


Walking Away

by saddle_tramp



Series: Walking Away [1]
Category: Glee, Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst and Feels, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Past Abuse, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 12:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 43,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6754477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saddle_tramp/pseuds/saddle_tramp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny Williams hasn't seen his favorite nephew in years, not since right after his sister died, but he never forgot how much he loved the kid. When the nephew gets put in the hospital by a bully, Danny gets a call he never expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walking Away

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: This is SO Marmalade_Skies’ fault. ALL OF IT. He bunnied me and then ran off and left me alone with the evil little bunny bastard to let it eat my brain! 
> 
> Title from the song of the same name by Craig David, lyrics of which are quoted within the story.
> 
> Also, this insane little ‘verse is a world all it’s own and definitely not part of the ‘verses that contain any of my other fics, Glee or H50, except for ‘No Song I Could Sing’ which is set after this. Any resemblance to other fics I've written is pure coincidence or because it's in my headcanon for the characters.

Danny was out beyond the _lanai_ in the shade of a huge old mango tree, sprawled in the hammock and holding a book he was pretending to read while he watched Grace surfing with Kono and Steve. He had been there more than an hour, but he had only managed to read about five pages because watching his family was so much more interesting than the book he had grabbed off of the shelves in the study. He figured it must have belonged to Steve’s dad, since he really couldn’t picture Steve having the patience – or the inclination – to read a crime drama with such a stupid protagonist. Danny was on the second chapter and he already knew who killed the dead guy, even though the ‘hero’ still had no clue.

Steve was paddling back out to the break to catch yet another wave with Grace perched happily on his back when Danny’s cell phone began to play ‘ _Who Are You?’_ He closed the book without bothering to mark his place and leaned to reach for the nearby table, grabbing his phone to check who was calling since the ringtone was the generic one he set for numbers not in his contact list. When he saw ‘ _Hummel Tire & Lube’_ on the caller ID his eyes went wide and he accepted the call. “Burt, is that really you?”

“Yeah, Danny, it’s me,” Burt replied, sounding tired. 

“Damn, I haven’t heard from you in _years_ ,” Danny said, surprised but smiling. “How’d you get my new number?”

“I called Connie,” Burt said quietly, and Danny’s smile faded away as he realized that Burt wasn’t just tired but also more than a little upset. “I hate to call so late on a Saturday, but I needed to talk to you.”

“It’s not late here, don't worry about it. Not even sundown yet.” Danny sat up in the hammock with deceptive ease born of practice, swinging his legs off of it to dangle over the side. “What’s wrong? Is Kurt okay?”

Burt was quiet for a long moment and then said softly, “No, Danny. He’s not.” 

Danny closed his eyes at the pain he heard in Burt’s voice, praying suddenly and fervently that Burt wasn’t going to tell him that Kurt was dying. Losing his oldest sister Lizzie to breast cancer was one of the worst things Danny’s family had ever gone through, even worse than losing Matt to his own stupidity, but he knew it had been even harder on Burt to lose the wife he had loved more than anything. Lizzie had been just starting college when her beloved old Pinto broke down, and one of Lizzie's new friends had given her a number to call that she said was for the best mechanic in town. Burt had been the one to answer the phone, and afterwards Lizzie had joked often that he was her knight in shining tow truck. It had been love at first sight for them both, a love that only deepened with the passing of time right up until cancer stole Lizzie from them all in the prime of her life and destroyed Burt's world, leaving him to raise their son alone. 

Danny hated even the _thought_ of losing his favorite nephew like they had lost Lizzie, and couldn’t imagine how terrible it would be for Burt. “What happened?”

Burt took a slow shuddering breath and then started talking, his voice shaking with emotion. “I hate to bother you out of nowhere like this, Danny, but... I don’t know who else to call. Kurt’s been having trouble in school for a long time, but there’s this one son of a bitch that’s really been after him for the last year or so, knocking him around and making threats. I had to put Kurt into private school to get him away from the guy, and then a few months later Kurt got me to transfer him back to his old school so I thought it was all done with. Then a few hours ago I got a call from a paramedic who answered an anonymous 911 call from one of the pay phones downtown and found Kurt unconscious in the parking lot of the high school, beat half to death.”

“Damn,” Danny said softly, opening his eyes to look down at his bare feet and remembering the happy little boy he had known. He didn’t have to ask _why_ Kurt had trouble in school – the boy had been _born_ flaming and Lima wasn’t exactly accepting of those who didn’t fit in – but he had to stop himself from asking what Kurt’s injuries were. Something about how broken Burt sounded made him sure he didn’t want to know exactly what had been done to the sweet kid Danny had always adored. “What can I do to help, Burt?”

Danny could hear Burt swallow hard and then he said quietly, “This guy, he tormented my boy so much he forced Kurt to change schools, but that wasn’t enough for him. Kurt finally told me a little while ago that the guy’s been stalking him the whole time he was going to the private school across town, too, and that that’s why he asked me to go back to his old school about a month ago. He left all of his friends to drive twice as far to a different school to try to be safe, but the guy found out where he was and went to the new school after him, so Kurt got me to send him back to McKinley. The guy left him alone at school after that because Kurt’s friends and a few of the staff have been watching out for him, but school's been out for a couple weeks now and I just found out the guy has been following Kurt’s Navigator whenever he left the house. Kurt _knew it_ but he never told me ‘cause he didn’t want me to worry.”

“Damn,” Danny murmured, and then Burt was talking again, words spilling out like he couldn’t stop them anymore now that he had gotten started. 

“Yeah. The worst part is I _know_ the bastard that’s responsible, but we can’t prove a damned thing so his dad refuses to do anything. I threatened Karofsky myself before Kurt left his old school, and made sure Karofsky’s dad knew all about what was going on, and I _told_ Kurt to tell me if the guy bothered him again. He never said anything so I thought it had stopped, but Kurt just didn’t want me to worry about him. Tonight Karofsky was watching when Kurt stopped to get gas on the way home from taking his girlfriends to the movies, and he—” Burt fell silent, taking a slow shaky breath as he got control of himself. “The guy waited for Kurt to go pay for his gas, and then hid by his truck until Kurt came back out. He forced Kurt into the truck and then he drove them out to the high school where nobody was around.” He swallowed hard enough for Danny to hear it and then said quietly, “He hurt him pretty bad, Danny. One of the nurses said she’s seen people come out of a head-on collision with less damage, and I gotta agree. Kurt’s got a broken arm and collarbone, a broken nose and cheekbone, cracked ribs, and enough bruises that he’s gonna be stiff and sore for weeks.”

“You need me to come help put this bastard away?” Danny asked, lifting his free hand to rub his face. “I can get on a plane _tonight_ if you think it’ll help, Burt. Just say the word and my partner and I will be on the way to harass the local cops until they put this guy behind bars where he belongs. Our team can handle things here without us for a few days. We’re not working any big cases right now.”

“Kurt refuses to testify,” Burt said quietly. “There’s nothing legal we can do without that, according to the cop that I just talked to. He said that we might be able prove Karofsky forced Kurt into the truck if the gas station has cameras covering where Kurt was parked, but that without Kurt being willing to say Karofsky is the one who beat him up it’s not going to go anywhere. Karofsky’s dad is the assistant district attorney, and the detective said even if Kurt _does_ testify the guy would probably just get a couple of months in jail before he was back out with an even bigger grudge.”

“Why won’t Kurt testify?” Danny asked, frowning. “It sounds like that asshole’s been after Kurt for a long time. Doesn’t he want it to stop?”

“He does, but he’s terrified of the guy,” Burt replied. “Karofsky told Kurt tonight that if Kurt turns him in he’ll just wait until he gets out of juvie and then kill me, and Kurt refuses to risk it. He says Karofsky’s psychotic enough to do it, and the guy has access to guns and knows how to use them.”

“Damn,” Danny muttered. He spent a moment trying to come up with some possible way to get the guy without Kurt’s testimony, but he knew there was really no way to do it, not if the local cops didn’t _want_ to put him away. “What do you need me to do, Burt? Just tell me and if I can swing it, I will.”

“I need somewhere _safe_ for my boy to go, Danny, and I was hoping you could help,” Burt admitted quietly, sounding tired. “Liz told me before I even _met_ you that you would move heaven and earth for family, and you always did so great with Kurt when Lizzie was sick that I was hoping maybe you’d be able to help again now. Kurt needs somewhere safe to go until this guy is out of the picture, but it won’t do a damn bit of good for him to stay with any of my family, not the way Karofsky is after him. They're all too close. I-- I know you've got that guy your momma says you're gonna marry, and that you’ve got relatives scattered all over, so I thought maybe you’d know somewhere he can go, at least for a while.”

Danny wriggled off the hammock to stand, looking out towards the water again to see that Steve had stuck his board in the sand and was heading quickly up the beach towards him, looking concerned. Kono and Grace were together on Kono’s board out on the water, laughing about something, and Danny was grateful for Kono’s presence so Grace wouldn’t have to be part of the conversation he needed to have with Steve. “I don’t need to ask around, Burt.” Steve was close enough to hear Danny, so he pulled the phone away from his mouth, asking, “Babe, you mind if my nephew Kurt moves in with us for a while?”

“Not at all,” Steve said quickly, surprised and concerned but trusting Danny enough not to ask any questions yet. Danny had told him a little about Kurt, enough for Steve to know that if Kurt needed to stay with them it probably wouldn't be for the fun of it. “He can have Mary’s old room. She doesn’t need it anymore now that Kamekona got her that house.”

Danny smiled, putting the phone to his mouth again. “You hear that, Burt?”

Burt let out a sigh of relief. “I did, yeah. I don’t know how to thank you, Danny. Both of you.”

“You don’t have to thank us. He’s family, and we’ve got an extra bedroom,” Danny said quickly, watching Steve as he held out his hand to him. Steve took his hand without hesitation, giving it a squeeze, and Danny smiled at him. “Kurt will be safe here. Me and Steve, we’ll make sure of it.”

Steve nodded but didn’t speak, moving closer to Danny, and Danny knew he was hoping to hear what was being said. Steve made a habit of trying to listen in to Danny’s phone conversations, mostly because he could and he knew Danny would let him. It saved time, after all, not having to tell Steve what had been said.

“Thank you.” Burt took a deep breath. “They’re keeping Kurt in the hospital overnight for observation, but they said he should be able to go home in the morning.”

“When he gets released, take him home and give him a few days to get steady on his feet again, then pack up his stuff and put him on a plane to Honolulu,” Danny said quietly, trying to sound reassuring. “We’ll pick him up when he gets here, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Burt agreed, but he didn’t sound pleased. “It’s gonna be hard as hell doing this to him, but I can’t let him stay here anymore, not while Karofsky’s still around.”

“It won’t be forever,” Danny said gently. “Just until it’s safe there for him again.”

“Yeah,” Burt said, sounding defeated and finally a little angry. “Just until homophobic assholes can’t get away with kidnapping and attempted murder because the local cops don’t care what happens to a gay kid.”

Danny sighed, hating the fact that there were still places like that in the world. “I wish I could come put that worthless son of a bitch away, Burt, but there’s not really anything I can do to the guy if Kurt won’t testify against him. My jurisdiction ends at the Hawai'i coast, so I can’t _make_ the cops there do anything.”

“I know, but you _can_ protect him once he’s there with you, right?” Burt asked, concerned. “Your mom told me you and your guy run a special task force, and that your team is the best in the world at getting people who think they’re above the law.”

“And she was right,” Danny agreed, looking at Steve. “Me and Steve, we both had pretty good arrest records on our own, but we got even better once we started working together and hand picked the other members of our team. It turns out that a Navy SEAL that made a name for himself as the very best the US military had to offer, two experienced homicide detectives, and a martial arts champion from a long line of cops can be a damn good team. We’ll put that asshole away if he so much as sets foot on our island.”

Steve let go of Danny’s hand and moved even closer, wrapping his arms around Danny from behind as he said, “If one of us doesn’t just shoot him on sight.”

Danny smiled and covered Steve’s hand on his stomach as he leaned back against him, amused at Steve putting his ear close to Danny’s cell phone to listen to Burt. Evidently Steve hadn’t been able to hear well enough to suit him, which made Danny think he had finally turned his phone down far enough to keep complete strangers – and more importantly, _Grace_ – from listening in to his phone conversations the way Steve did. “I hope you heard that, Burt.”

“I did,” Burt agreed. 

Danny expected Burt to say more but he didn’t, and after a few moments Danny tried to reassure him. “We’re not the most traditional family around, but I can promise you that Kurt’ll be safe here with us. Grace will love him, I know, and we’ll all do whatever it takes to help him be happy here. Kono and Chin are the other two people on the taskforce with us, they’re part of the family. Grace calls them Aunt and Uncle, and they’re closer to us than anyone except each other, I think. Steve’s little sister Mary is around a lot now that she’s back in Hawai'i, and Kurt’s sure to have Governor Jameson interested in him, too. She and Steve’s dad were together for years before he died and Pat’s part of the family, always checking in or showing up to Sunday dinner when she can get away. Her son is stationed in Virginia and her daughter is in Florida, so Pat has kind of claimed us all as her kids.” 

“It sounds like you’ve got a great family there, Danny,” Burt said quietly. “I hope you can help Kurt get past this. He’s always been bullied, sometimes it seemed like he came home with new bruises every day, but this time… This time is worse than it’s ever been, and I don’t know how to protect him anymore.” 

“It was pretty bad, huh?” Danny half-asked, wishing he knew what to say.

“Yeah,” Burt said softly. “Him being hurt is bad enough, but that’s not the worst part. He-- He acts like he thinks _I_ would hurt him, and when I tried to calm him down it just made it worse. I've _never_ seen him shaking and crying like that, so scared that he couldn't stand for even me to get near him. One of the nurses says it’s normal for a kid that’s been beaten so bad, but this is _Kurt_ and I _know_ him, and just— He _never_ let the bastards get to him before, Danny, but this Karofsky guy is a real piece of work and this time--” He broke off and was quiet a moment, taking a few shaky breaths, and then he went on quietly, his voice rough with emotion. “This time, I think Karofsky might have broken him. Kurt had a full-blown _panic attack_ when a male nurse walked into the room a little while ago, and freaked so bad that he threw up. The doc had to give him a shot to calm him down, which was rough because he's terrified of the doc touching him, too. He finally calmed down enough I could leave him a minute with Carole and her son and his best friend. He's not scared of them, as long as nobody tries to touch him." He sighed. "But I’m not gonna let the docs keep him doped up all the time like he is now just to keep him quiet.”

Steve held Danny and rubbed his free hand slowly along Danny’s arm while Danny fought down his anger at the thought of Kurt being so scared that even having Burt close to him frightened the kid. He had to take a minute or so to breathe deeply and get control of himself again, but he managed to sound fairly calm as he finally said, “Getting him somewhere far away from that bastard who hurt him will be a good start, Burt. After that, we’ll just have to give him time to heal and get him some counseling if he needs it. I know a really good therapist who has done a lot of work with the local PD, helping victims _and_ cops deal with the kinds of things we see. If anyone can help Kurt, it’s her.”

“Getting him somewhere _safe_ is what I’m most worried about right now,” Burt murmured, sounding defeated. “Kurt needs to be somewhere that just being himself isn’t a good enough reason to hurt him. He’s only got a year left of high school before he can apply to college in New York like he’s been planning. I don’t really like the idea of him being alone up there so far from anyone he knows, but he says it’s safer there for a kid like him.”

“He’ll be safe with _us_ , Burt. I can promise that much,” Danny said firmly. “I’m a cop and Steve’s a SEAL, and between the two of us we can handle _anyone_.” He paused and then added, “And as far as college goes, maybe by then we can change Kurt’s mind. Hawai'i has some good schools, and he can stay with us as long as he wants to.” 

“We’ll be glad to have him,” Steve agreed quickly, “and Kailua is a lot safer for a gay kid than it is in Ohio. Hate crimes are _not_ ignored by the cops, and I know the schools here have a strong tradition against bullying.”

“That’s good to hear,” Burt said, even though he sounded uncertain. “Do you… have much trouble, Danny? About being with your partner? Steve, I mean?”

“None worth worrying about,” Danny replied. “We get smartass comments sometimes, but people were asking how long me and Steve have been married before we were really even _friends_ , so I think it’s probably more about the way we argue than anything else, and I can’t remember hearing about even one really bad gay bashing on Oahu since I’ve been living here. Even if we didn’t hear it through the local gossip grapevine, my daughter would have said something to me if that kind of thing was going on. She knows it’s wrong, and she would want us to help stop it.”

“You haven’t heard about it because it doesn’t happen very often here,” Steve said firmly, still holding Danny close. “The Hawai'ian culture doesn’t persecute people for their sexuality, and most _kama'aina_ don’t let anyone else to do it, either. When I was a kid nobody ever cared I was bi except my dad, not even after half the team walked in the locker room one time and caught me with the opposing team’s quarterback.”

“You hear all that, Burt?” Danny turned his head to look up at Steve, a little amused that Steve had actually gotten caught fucking the enemy after a football game. He wondered if Steve had won or lost that game for only a moment before he decided Steve had probably won, knowing his record in school, which just made it even funnier. It wouldn't surprise Danny at all to find out Steve had literally bet his ass on the game. It was just the kind of thing Steve would do when he was feeling especially cocky.

“Yeah, I did,” Burt said, obviously relieved, and Steve winked at Danny. “Hawai'i sounds pretty good to me, Danny.”

“So it’s settled,” Danny said, amused at Steve. He looked back down at the sand, mostly because twisting to see Steve’s face was hell on his neck the way Steve was holding him. “Kurt’s coming to live with us for a while.”

“Yeah, he is,” Burt agreed, then let out a little ghost of a chuckle. “Well, he is as soon as I can get him on a plane. He hates to fly. Says there are too many people breathing in such a small space for it to possibly be sanitary. When he had to fly to New York with his Glee club for Nationals, he took vitamins and some kind of weird fizzy drink for three days before he left and then kept taking the pills and drinking that stuff the whole time he was gone, trying to keep from catching anything. Spent a fortune on it all, but he was convinced it was worth it when he managed to get there and back home without catching anything.”

Steve snickered at that, and Danny was grinning as he said, “That I can’t help you with. He always was an opinionated little guy, so I’m sure he’ll have plenty to say about the idea.”

“He usually is, yeah,” Burt said. “Not so little anymore, but just as stubborn as ever. With Carole’s help I can probably talk him into doing it for my sake. How happy he’ll be about it is a whole ‘nother question, though. He won’t like running away.”

Danny shifted slightly to settle back against Steve a little more comfortably, and then Steve ducked to press a soft kiss below his ear, making Danny tilt his head to the side to give Steve better access even though he knew Steve was just trying to distract him. “We’ll worry about that once he’s here, okay? We’ll work it out together.”

“Sounds good,” Burt agreed. “I should get back in there with him. If he freaks out again for some reason, I'm not sure Carole and the boys could calm him down.”

“Of course,” Danny said quickly. “Go take care of him, Burt. We can talk more once you get him home.”

Burt was quiet a moment and then said a bit gruffly, “Thank you, Danny. I didn’t know anyone else I could—“

“Don’t worry about it,” Danny interrupted, “we’re _glad_ to help any way we can, Burt. You know how much I always loved the kid. I'll be glad to see him, and he’ll be a hell of a lot safer here than he has been in Lima.”

“Which is the most important thing right now,” Burt said quietly. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Anytime you need to talk, you’ve got my number,” Danny agreed. “And give it to Kurt and tell him the same goes for him, okay? Don't worry about what time it is here, I'm up at all hours anyway, it won't bother me.”

“I'll tell him,” Burt replied. “Talk to you soon.”

“We’ll be here,” Danny responded, and then a moment later Burt hung up.

Danny lowered his hand to put his phone in his pocket, looking down at the sand until Steve gave him a squeeze and murmured softly, “Don’t worry, Danno. He’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Danny said softly, turning toward Steve to slide his arms around him and just hold on, trying to make himself believe.

~*~

Kurt quietly followed Burt off the plane into the boarding tunnel that led to the Honolulu airport, staying close to his dad and avoiding looking at the airport personnel they passed as he prayed he could just crawl out of sight and hide soon. He'd had more than enough of so many strangers staring at him with such dismay, or worse, treating him like a poor injured bunny and wanting to help him even though there was absolutely _nothing_ anyone could do to help him. 

Kurt had heard people say ‘it looks worse than it is’ when they were hurt all his life, had even said it himself many times when his dad was worrying about him, but for once his injuries were even more painful than they looked. He was painfully aware of the fact that he looked like he had recently lost a fight with Mike Tyson, and he didn’t need to see the shock or pity on the face of every person he passed to remind him. He knew that he looked terrible despite the concealer he had put on to try to hide the worst of the bruises on his face, and he was getting very tired of false sympathy and insincere wishes for him to get better soon. 

Kurt couldn’t see his own face as he walked down the boarding tunnel with his father, of course, but what he had seen in the mirror that morning was burned into his memory like one of Rachel’s particularly hideous sweaters. Bruises in mottled shades of dark purple completely covered most of his face, especially his eyes and his nose, which was still swollen from being broken, and his right cheekbone been fractured and was swollen and bruised even darker than his nose. The bruising around both of his eyes was turning an ugly green as it slowly began to heal, his lower lip was puffy and split, he had a cut along his cheek where the skin had split on impact, and one eyebrow had been shaved so another cut there could be stitched closed. His right sleeve was empty because that arm was in a cast, immobilized and strapped snugly to his chest to help stabilize his shoulder and broken collarbone, and he walked with a limp no matter how hard he tried not to favor his right leg, which was still very sore because of a vicious kick Karofsky had delivered to his thigh just before he left Kurt to die. Nothing was broken in his leg, but the skin had split badly enough to need a dozen stitches and the bruising went all the way to the bone according to the doctor, causing swelling that was so bad that Kurt had been forced to wear a pair of Finn's jeans. Kurt’s own jeans were all too tight for him to even pull them up over his swollen thigh, and he refused to go out in public in sweat pants, even now.

Kurt hadn’t died like he had thought he would that night, hadn’t even really come close to it despite how much pain he had been in, but during that endless night in the hospital he had caught himself thinking several times that everyone might be better off if he did. It wasn’t a welcome feeling for him, and it frightened him that he had reached the point that dying was starting to seem like a viable way out of his situation. Leaving the hospital had been such a relief that he had hoped that things would get better, but on the way home he hadn’t been able to keep from looking out the window of his dad’s truck as they passed the Karofsky house. Karofsky had been standing by his battered Ford pickup in the driveway, obviously angry as he watched them go by, and just seeing him had left Kurt shaking and so terrified he nearly threw up.

Kurt had tried to convince himself he was safe once he was at home with his dad, Carole, and Finn, and he had finally managed to relax a bit until late that night, when he was alone in the living room watching television. Kurt hadn’t been tired yet when everyone else went to bed, and after an hour of trying to sleep he had returned to the living room couch to see if he could find anything on television to distract him from his insomnia. He had spent a long time looking for something to watch, and had barely settled on an old movie starring Olivia de Havilland when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He had turned his head to look towards the front window of the house, surprised, and when he saw Karofsky standing outside watching him, he screamed. He woke everyone in the house, but Karofsky was long gone by the time Burt and Finn got outside. 

Carole, Finn, and Burt had all tried to act like they believed Karofsky had been at the window, but Kurt could tell they were just humoring him. He had tried to pretend he believed everything was okay when they told him it was, but he didn’t do a very good job of it, he knew. Despite the fact his family thought he was seeing things, _Kurt_ knew it hadn’t been his imagination, just like he didn’t imagine seeing Karofsky lurking outside the next night, in the back yard outside Finn’s bedroom window while Kurt was watching Puck and Finn play Mario Kart. Every noise outside or shadow moving by a window made Kurt panic after that, so he had started spending as much time as possible in his bedroom for the simple reason it and his bathroom were the only rooms in the house that had no windows. As long as he was in his bedroom he had felt at least a little bit safer, though he still jumped at every little noise outside his room unless he was wearing his earphones with music playing too loud to hear anything else. 

The fear that Karofsky would move on from peering in windows to actually breaking into the house made Kurt’s night in the hospital seem almost pleasant by comparison, and by the time he saw Karofsky at a window again he was already such a wreck that he was terrified to be alone in the house. Until then Kurt had been trying to talk his parents out of making him fly halfway around the world to live with his Uncle Danny, who he hadn’t seen at all in years, but after the third time he saw Karofsky staring in a window at him, the will to fight left Kurt and he ended up hiding in his bathroom, shaking and crying. He couldn’t stand the thought of living in constant fear with Karofsky lurking outside his home, just waiting to catch him alone and make good on some of the threats he made that night in the high school parking lot. Kurt didn't want to kill himself despite how bad his life was at the moment, was honestly terrified that the idea kept occurring to him, and he felt like his only other choice was to try to get away.

Hawai'i was about as 'away' as Kurt felt like he could get, so when he finally calmed down he went to tell his dad to make the arrangements for his flight before he even bothered to find out anything more about Kailua than the fact Uncle Danny lived there. An hour on the computer later that night -- which wouldn't have taken nearly so long if Kurt wasn't trying to use a mouse and type with the wrong hand -- had left Kurt hopeful that maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. Several websites he had found had talked about the gay community on Oahu and how supportive it was, and he had wandered through Hawai'ian message boards and read posts from dozens of people who talked about how much they loved Kailua and how accepting the island’s people were of gay visitors and residents. It all sounded too good to be true to him, but even if it wasn’t really as completely safe there as they said, so many people saying good things meant it _had_ to be better than Lima.

Kurt would have eventually been willing to go even if Kailua hadn’t seemed like such a huge improvement over Ohio, though. By Wednesday morning, the fourth day after he got out of the hospital, he could see how badly worrying about him was wearing his dad down, making him look tired and pale even at breakfast. Kurt knew that his problems were causing about ninety percent of Burt’s stress, and he was more frightened of Burt having another heart attack than he was of anything else in the world. Kurt was scared every moment trying to live barely a block away from Karofsky, who was steadily getting closer to being truly psychotic, but even that didn't begin to compare with the terror he felt at the idea of his dad having another heart attack. 

The only answer seemed to be for Kurt to leave, so he had fought down the terror that wanted to come bubbling up every time he thought too much about being alone in a strange place and started packing. Danny had known Kurt was gay for years, and was bisexual himself, so that was at least one thing Kurt knew he wouldn't have to worry about. Danny had been his very favorite person besides his parents when he was little, the only relative he had ever felt truly accepted him just as he was besides his dad and Grandma Connie, so he hoped that he wasn’t making a huge mistake. He was older, and he knew things would have changed as much for Danny as they had for him, but he hoped that enough of the Uncle Danny he remembered would be left for them to still get along. 

Seeing the end of the boarding tunnel pulled Kurt out of his thoughts and he swallowed hard as he moved to walk at Burt's other side, trying to act like he hadn't done it just so his dad would be between him and the airport employee who was standing at the end of the tunnel. The steward was watching them, but Kurt hoped he wouldn't decide to approach like so many others they saw that day had done. He wasn't sure he could keep it together if the man got too close, not after the stewardess on the plane from L.A. to Honolulu that had constantly stopped by Kurt's seat and touched him without warning before she asked if he needed anything. He had finally traded seats with his dad to be by the window where the woman couldn’t reach him anymore and she took the hint to stop, but the damage had already been done. Kurt was practically jumping out of his skin if anything touched him by the time he left the plane, and he had to fight hard to keep it together as they approached the steward at the entrance to the terminal.

Burt glanced back at Kurt as they walked down the boarding tunnel, looking sad and worn like he had every minute for the last six days and distracting Kurt from the steward as he asked, “How you holding up, son?”

“I’m fine, Dad,” Kurt replied softly, embarrassed that it was so obvious he was close to freaking out and wishing he could hide it better. 

Just the thought of being in a plane full of people had been enough to make Kurt talk his dad into letting him put an upgrade their tickets on his credit card that morning when he found out they were flying coach. Burt had agreed after only a little argument, and Kurt had been glad to get seats in business class so they would have a little more privacy. Actually being in the crowded airport in Dayton had left him shaking and very near a panic attack by the time they were on the plane to L.A., though, and then L.A. had been even worse. Kurt had been getting better for the last week, enough that being with his family or Puck didn’t bother him at least, but being in a crowd of strangers had turned him into a wreck depressingly fast in the last two airports Kurt had been in that day and he was dreading a repeat performance in Honolulu. 

“I just want to find Uncle Danny and get out of here,” Kurt added very quietly as soon as they had passed the steward, hoping that he wasn't visibly trembling. Sometimes he couldn't tell anymore if he was truly shaking or just felt like he was.

“Alright,” Burt said, looking at Kurt a moment longer before he faced ahead of them again as they moved out into the terminal. 

They were the first ones off the plane because Danny’s partner, Steve, had made some calls after he got their flight number. Kurt had been having panic attacks if _any_ strangers got close while he was in the hospital, and Kurt had overheard his dad telling Danny about Kurt’s reaction to the crowds in the Dayton airport when Burt called from the boarding area to let Danny and Steve know they had made their flight. Danny had called while they were in L.A. to get their flight number and told Burt then that Steve had somehow convinced the airline that Kurt should be allowed to leave the plane well ahead of the other passengers. 

The arrivals area was almost deserted when Kurt and Burt finally reached it so Kurt spotted Danny immediately, his eyes widening a bit in surprise when he saw the tall, handsome man with Danny that Kurt realized must be the partner he had heard about. Kurt had known that his uncle was bi for months, ever since Grandma Connie told him that Danny had shocked the whole family and gotten engaged to his boss, an ex-military man named Steve, but he hadn’t really expected to see Danny with a guy that looked like _that_. 

Danny had always been loud and funny with an attitude that had led to Kurt’s mom teasing him often about being an overgrown banty rooster, and Kurt had kind of thought Danny would end up with someone just as funny and active, not someone so, well, _impressive_. 

Steve was nearly a foot taller than Danny with a face that Kurt might have drooled over a year ago, and he was watching Danny pace with such obvious affection that it was kind of adorable. Steve was wearing a badge and a gun on his hip, and he was fit even though he didn’t have as much muscle in his shoulders and chest as Danny did, but his choice of clothing did nothing to flatter his lean build. He wore ugly tan combat boots that looked like they had been through a war, a pair of loose khaki-colored cargo pants that had stains down one leg that looked suspiciously like dried blood, and a tucked-in dark blue t-shirt with a loose button-front khaki shirt open over it. 

Danny’s appearance was a stark contrast to Steve’s. His face still looked a lot like he had the last time Kurt saw him except for the new laugh lines around his eyes, but he walked with a slight limp and wore a gun and badge at one hip, just like Steve did. He wore nicely tailored pants and a snug dress shirt and tie that all fit him perfectly instead of the ragged old jeans and t-shirts that Kurt remembered, but he still moved with the same quick stride despite his limp and still had the wide-shouldered, muscular build that had always let Danny hold his own in fights despite his height. Danny was tanned and fit and looked really good, and the sun had bleached his dark hair so that the longer gelled-back hair on top was a bright gold. 

Seen together, Danny and Steve were as mismatched a pair as Kurt had ever seen, and he found it a little difficult to reconcile Steve’s appearance with his grandmother’s description of Danny’s lovable Hawai'ian boyfriend. Grandma Connie had told Kurt that Steve was one of the sweetest men she ever met and that he had made Danny happier than she had ever seen him before, but she hadn’t gone into a lot of detail so Kurt really didn’t know much more than that. 

It was hard for Kurt to imagine Danny any happier than the uncle he had adored as a boy. Kurt remembered Danny very well, especially the long days spent with Danny while his mom was in and out of the hospital that last year before she died. Kurt had always asked to stay with Danny when Lizzie was feeling run-down or was in the hospital so his parents wouldn’t have to worry about him, and it had worked out really well for them all. Danny was attending the University of Northwestern Ohio on a scholarship then like Kurt’s mom had done several years earlier, though Lizzie had gotten an academic scholarship and Danny had gotten one for baseball. Danny had chosen to accept the scholarship there in Lima just to be near Lizzie, right after she married Burt and settled down there, and he had already been Kurt's favorite uncle before he could even talk.

Kurt had never known that his beloved Uncle Danny was bi until Grandma Connie told him that Danny was engaged to a man, but looking back, he realized it explained a lot of how Danny had treated him all his life. Most of Kurt’s relatives on his dad’s side of the family could be counted on to make comments about his clothes and how he acted that were borderline cruel, and some of them refused to even let their kids near him, but his mother’s family had never been like that. Kurt had learned very young that he could count on Danny to love and encourage him even when Kurt’s own father was uncomfortable with Kurt’s choices, like when Kurt wore sparkly pink barrettes in his hair with a Little Mermaid t-shirt. Danny and his youngest sister Michelle had both accepted Kurt just the way he was, love for sensible heels, tiara collection and all, and made sure he knew that he was loved and that they were proud of him. 

Danny had been Kurt’s favorite babysitter when he was little for the simple reason Danny never tried to get him to play with the ‘right’ toys and was always willing to go along with any game Kurt suggested, even if it was playing dress-up or having a tea party. Kurt had a few photos from his bedroom at home tucked into one of his suitcases that bore silent witness to the fact Danny had always accepted Kurt fully. His favorite was the one of him with Danny when he was five, both of them wearing flowered hats with gaudy clip-on earrings and brightly-colored scarves around their necks, holding tiny teacups and sitting at a pink table that barely came up to Danny’s knees while they laughed together. 

Kurt’s mother had taken the picture, and that rare afternoon spent with her and Danny was one of Kurt's very favorite memories of his mother. He had it in a double frame with another photo taken the same day of Kurt dancing with his mother, who had worn another of the huge flowery hats with a pair of her own dangly earrings, a pretty maroon and gold silk scarf she had worn often to church, and the bright yellow sundress that had been her favorite. Kurt still had the scarf, which he had wrapped around the photos to protect them a bit more for the trip, and the sundress, which was in his closet at home in the hope chest that was once his mother's, and he treasured them both.

Danny had moved back to New Jersey after they lost Lizzie because Grandma Connie couldn’t bear to have Danny or Michelle living so far away from her after losing her oldest daughter, but Kurt had never forgotten how much Danny’s unfailing acceptance of him as a little boy had meant to him. Talking to Danny on the phone had been an important part of Kurt's Saturday afternoon for years after Danny left, but it had been especially essential to him after the school districts were rezoned and Kurt had to change schools at the beginning of fifth grade. Kurt had suddenly been in school with kids he didn't know that weren't used to him being so different from other boys, and it had been rough trying to adjust and make new friends. No amount of distance or time could ever make Kurt forget that it had been Danny who told Kurt to be himself, and that if the other kids didn’t like it they weren’t good enough to be his friends anyway. Burt had agreed when Kurt told him what Danny had said, of course, but it had been Danny who told Kurt never to change for anyone.

Danny spotted Burt and Kurt then and a wide smile lit up his face as he called cheerfully, “There you are!” He walked quickly towards them with Steve following at his shoulder like it was where he thought he belonged, both men looking pleased. “I was about to go looking for you.”

“It took them a while to let us leave the plane,” Burt said, holding out his hand to offer it to Danny. “It’s been a long time, Danny.”

Danny ignored Burt’s hand, moving in to hug Burt instead, and Kurt was a little surprised to see his dad return the hug with barely any hesitation. Burt usually didn't hug other men, not even his own brothers. 

“Too damn long, if you ask me," Danny murmured as he hugged Burt tightly. He released Burt after a few moments, stepping away from him and looking at Kurt. “Can I have a hug from you too, kiddo, or is that too much for you right now?”

Kurt wanted to move away at just the _idea_ of Danny hugging him, but he tried not to let it show as he forced a smile. The thought of Danny touching him wasn’t really the problem, it was lingering in the airport even a minute longer than they had to, but he wasn’t about to try to explain it. Just thinking about having to explain how much he hated having strangers around him was enough to make Kurt feel even more tense and uncomfortable than he already was. 

The warm look in Danny’s expressive blue eyes shifted to something sympathetic and sad even though his smile didn’t change, and Kurt suddenly knew without a doubt his attempt to smile was failing miserably, but he realized just as quickly that it didn’t matter because Danny understood without having to be told. That made Kurt’s smile soften and shift into something more sincere as he asked quietly, “Would you mind if I take a rain check on that, Uncle Danny?”

“Not a bit, kiddo,” Danny said with a reassuring smile. “You just let me know when you want to collect, okay? I got all the hugs you can stand, when you’re ready for ‘em.”

Kurt nodded. “I will, I promise.”

Danny smiled gently at Kurt and then turned towards Steve, who was still right there at his shoulder. He reached out to put one hand at the small of Steve’s back and urge him forward. “Babe, don’t just stand there doing the tall, dark, and silent thing. Say hello.” Danny smiled at Burt and Kurt, looking amused as he added, “This is my partner, Steve McGarrett.”

Steve smiled, offering his hand to Burt first. “Nice to meet you, Burt. Danny’s told me a lot about you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Burt said, looking amused and tired as he shook Steve’s hand.

Steve smiled wider, letting his hand fall again. “He can’t tell you much. Most everything I did before I met him is still classified, unless you want to hear football stories from high school.”

Burt let out a little snort of a laugh. “He _did_ say you used to be a SEAL.”

“I’m still a SEAL, I’m just in the reserves now.” Steve glanced past Burt at Kurt, still smiling. “Welcome to Hawai'i, Kurt. I think you’ll like it here if you give it a chance. I’ve been everywhere and this is definitely the best place on earth.” His gaze shifted over Kurt’s shoulder for an instant and then back to Kurt as he nodded towards the baggage claim area, adding, “Why don’t we go see if we can find your bags?”

Kurt glanced behind him to see what had drawn Steve’s attention and saw that two stewardesses were coming down the boarding tunnel with several passengers not far behind them. He looked back at Steve as he took a step forward, standing very close to Burt and Danny as he murmured, “Yes, please. I’d _really_ like to get out of here.”

Burt nodded as he reached out to put his hand on Kurt’s back. “Okay, son. Let’s go then.”

Kurt practically jumped away from the light touch on his back before he could stop himself, and he tried to pretend he was just heading for the baggage claim area as he started walking quickly in that direction. He hated that even his father’s touch could make him feel so uncomfortable, but it was already better than it had been when he got out of the hospital so he hoped that someday it would go away. He didn’t have a panic attack anymore when he was touched like he had during that interminably long night and half of a day he had spent in the hospital with nurses poking and prodding him at all hours, but he still couldn’t stop himself from moving away most of the time, especially when he was already stressed out. When he wasn’t nervous enough to jump out of his skin he could force himself to be still as long as he was expecting the touch and it was someone he trusted, but at that moment he was so keyed up that _anyone_ touching him made his skin crawl as he fought the urge to run. 

Burt didn’t say anything about Kurt moving away from him, he just stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked towards the baggage claim with Kurt, trailed by Danny and Steve. “How long will it take them to get the bags off the plane?” Burt asked, making Kurt look back towards Danny and Steve.

“Shouldn’t be too long,” Steve said, giving Kurt a reassuring smile. “If you want to tell me what bags to look for, Danny could take you both to the truck and I’ll catch up once I get your stuff.”

“Would you mind, Uncle Danny?” Kurt asked quietly, looking hopefully at Danny as they stopped near the empty baggage carousel. “We don’t have many, just my three bags and Dad’s old black duffle.” He paused slightly and then added, “They’re all tagged. My bags are maroon canvas with white tags that have little musical notes on them and my initials, KEH, and Dad’s has a plain black tag with BKH on it in white.”

Danny gave Kurt a reassuring smile. “Sure, kiddo. Whatever you need.” He looked at Steve. “You want me to come back and help carry, babe?”

“Nah, I got it,” Steve said easily, moving closer to Danny. He lifted one hand to the side of Danny’s neck as he leaned down to kiss him, smiling at Danny as he pulled away again to look down at him. “You could pull the truck into the loading zone, though. Then I won’t have to wrestle the bags through that maze they call a parking lot.”

“Okay,” Danny agreed easily, smiling as his hands moved to Steve’s waist. “We should be parked near the door by the time you get that far.”

“Good,” Steve said, still smiling at Danny like he was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. He leaned down to kiss Danny again, lingering longer than he had the first time.

Kurt surreptitiously looked around, shocked that they were being so casually affectionate in public and that no one really cared except a frowning tourist that had just gotten off the plane. If Danny and Steve had kissed so casually in public _anywhere_ in Ohio Kurt was sure a lynch mob would be forming already, but the few locals that Kurt could see all seemed not to even _notice_ except for two stewardesses lingering near the tunnel that led to the plane, who were both obviously enjoying watching them. 

Kurt turned his attention back to Danny and Steve as he wondered if Hawai'i really _was_ the safe place that Danny had said it was. He hadn't really believed it was even possible until that moment.

Kurt glanced at his dad, wondering what Burt would think of Danny and Steve kissing, and he was surprised to find Burt was smiling as he watched them. Kurt let his gaze go back to Danny and Steve, wondering if they were being so demonstrative for his benefit for only a moment before he decided it was probably just how they were with each other. They had moved together as easy and natural as breathing, and they obviously loved each other very much.

Steve finally pulled away enough to end the kiss, smiling warmly at Danny. “I shouldn’t be long, _ipo_.”

“Don’t scare the tourists while you wait, babe,” Danny said teasingly, grinning up at Steve. “And no scowling at the baggage handlers if they’re slow, okay? It’s Friday, they’re busy enough without you giving them hell.”

“I won’t scare the tourists,” Steve agreed, amused. “And the baggage guys’ll get a move on when someone lets them know I’m waiting, if they haven’t already.”

Danny snorted a laugh at that. “They’re sure to know you on sight by now, as many times as we’ve been here taking down some asshole that was trying to bolt.”

Steve smirked, smug. “We _are_ good at our jobs.” He kissed Danny soundly again and then let go of Danny completely, stepping back as he lifted his chin towards the long hallway leading away from the arrivals area they were in. “Go on, get out of here.”

Danny stepped away from Steve, holding out his hand and looking amused. “Keys?”

Steve dug into one of the pockets of his cargo pants and then offered Danny a ring of keys that had what looked like a small _grenade_ hanging from it. “I’m driving home.”

“You wish,” Danny said with a laugh as he snagged the keys. “I got the keys, I get to drive. You made it a rule, remember?”

“Fine, then!” Steve said, smirking at Danny. “Have fun adjusting the seat, Danno. You won’t even be able to touch the pedals where it is now. You’ll be peering over the dash like someone’s granny.”

Danny scowled at Steve even though his blue eyes sparkled with amusement. “Just for that, _you_ get to cook all weekend.”

Steve snorted, still smirking. “I always cook when we eat at home. You can’t really make anything but steaks, breakfast, or Hamburger Helper.”

“Oh shut up,” Danny said with a laugh, turning away to head for the main doors. “Make yourself useful and get the bags. We’ll be in the truck.”

“ _My_ truck,” Steve pointed out with a wide grin. 

Danny lifted the keys. “I’ve got the keys, so right now it’s _my_ truck.”

Burt chuckled and started after Danny, and Kurt glanced once more at Steve before he followed his dad quickly, wondering what it was going to be like, living with Danny and Steve. 

Somehow, Kurt had a feeling that his life would never be the same again.

~*~

Steve had immediately noticed the way Kurt avoided letting anyone touch him in the terminal, even his father, and how nervous Kurt had been when people started getting off the plane behind him. He hadn’t missed Kurt’s shock that he kissed Danny in public either, and it had made him hate the mainland just a little more to see Kurt’s worry as he looked around like he expected someone to attack them for something so simple. 

Steve and Danny had already decided they would be just as affectionate around Kurt as they usually were, and Steve hoped that seeing them together would help Kurt relax a little about how his own sexuality would be accepted. Burt would only be staying with them until Sunday morning before he had to be on a plane back to Ohio, and Steve was afraid that Kurt might have a rough time of it once his dad left. Kurt didn’t want to be touched even by his dad, but he seemed to need his dad’s presence to reassure him anyway.

The plan had been to go out to eat right after they left the airport, taking Kurt and Burt to eat whatever sounded good to them, but Kurt’s obvious fear in the airport had changed Steve’s mind. Steve thought that Kurt needed to see for himself that he and Danny weren’t harassed for their relationship no matter where they went on the island, but he figured that would have to wait until Kurt trusted them a little more. Steve had suggested grilling dinner at home instead while Danny was making his way out of the airport’s maze of parking areas and access roads, and Kurt had pounced on the idea so quickly that Burt and Danny had both agreed. 

The drive up the Pali Highway as they crossed to the windward side of the island had passed surprisingly fast, mostly, Steve was sure, because Danny kept the conversation going without even seeming to try. Danny had made a detour on the way through Kailua to stop at their favorite local grocery store so Steve could pick up fresh seafood and steaks to go with the vegetables they had at home, and Steve hadn’t missed the way Kurt double-checked the lock on his door when they parked in the crowded little lot. Steve had hurried through his shopping and then they headed towards home, Danny driving slowly as he and Steve pointed out local places that they thought Kurt or Burt might be interested in. 

Kurt spent most of the drive sitting silently in his seat behind Danny and listening to the others talk, his gaze flicking between them to watch each person as they spoke. Steve, Danny, and Burt had all tried to get Kurt involved in the conversation about Kailua and some of the businesses where the staff was particularly friendly and helpful, but Kurt had answered only when he was asked a direct question.

By the time Steve was walking up the front steps of the only real home he had ever known, he was starting to worry that Kurt might be a little bit more messed up than Burt realized. Kurt was acting withdrawn and shy, two things that didn’t really go with everything Danny had told Steve about him, and Kurt had quietly moved to keep both Burt and Danny between himself and Steve after they all got out of the truck. Steve tried to seem as unthreatening as possible and stayed well away from Kurt as he carried Kurt’s three bags into the house, careful not to crowd him in any way. Kurt didn’t really seem frightened of him, but he also obviously didn’t want Steve getting close so Steve was going to give him all the space he could until Kurt learned to trust him a little more.

“Make yourselves at home,” Danny said cheerfully as he tossed the keys to the truck into a basket on the table by the door that already held the Camaro’s keys, his other hand occupied with two tote bags of groceries. “ _Mi casa es su casa,_ as they say in the states.”

“Hawai'i _is_ a state, Danno,” Steve reminded him, giving Danny an amused look as he started towards the stairs with Kurt’s bags. “I’m gonna go put these in Kurt’s room, then I’ll get started on dinner.”

“No hurry, babe,” Danny said easily, heading towards the kitchen with the groceries. “It’ll take me that long to get this stuff up and get out the veggies for a salad.”

“Probably,” Steve agreed, heading upstairs as he pretended not to notice the way Kurt had moved away from everyone else as soon as he was in the house. 

Steve walked quickly up to Mary’s old room, which Mary had helped them clean out after he and Danny explained to her about Kurt’s situation, and he paused to glance around as he wondered one last time if Kurt would like it. Burt’s stepson Finn had sent Danny and Steve some pictures of Kurt’s bedroom, which was done in deep reds and browns with elegantly understated furniture and little decoration, and Finn had made sure to get good photos of Kurt’s bed and even a close-up of the tag on the Egyptian cotton sheets he liked so Danny and Steve could try to match them. Finn had told them Kurt was very picky about his sheets, so they had visited three stores and then finally went to the Macy’s in the mall before they found something like the sheets Kurt had back in Ohio.

The room wasn’t _exactly_ like what Kurt had left behind, obviously, but Steve, Danny, Grace, Mary, and Kono had all done their best to make the room into something Kurt might feel at home in. They had spent the previous Sunday repainting the walls in a soft cream color, and then after work the next day Danny, Steve, and Kono had gone out to buy the furniture. Carole, Kurt’s step-mom, had promised to mail most of Kurt’s usual bedding after Kurt left Ohio, but until they arrived Kurt had a fluffy maroon comforter and tan cotton sheets that were soft and would keep Kurt warm at night even when the wind off the ocean got a little cool. 

Mary’s old wooden dresser and twin bed had been moved up into the attic so they would still have somewhere for a guest to stay if they needed it, replaced in Kurt’s new room by a walnut-stained oak bed that was similar to the one in Kurt’s old room, with a matching nightstand and chest of drawers. A bookcase was added in one corner of the room with a computer desk next to it waiting for Kurt to make it his own, complete with a computer and a large wide-screen monitor that would double as a television and was already connected to the broadband and cable service Steve used. Steve had emailed back and forth with Finn just the day before to ask what programs Kurt used on his old computer, and then he spent an hour or so installing iTunes, Skype, and an instant messaging program that would accept messages from any platform to let Kurt easily keep in touch with his friends in Ohio.

Steve headed back towards the stairs, hoping that Kurt would eventually feel at home with them, though with the way Kurt was acting that night he didn’t think it would happen soon. He met Burt at the top of the stairs, smiling reassuringly at him when he saw how lost Burt looked and thinking that he and Danny needed to get Burt alone and talk to him, too. Burt was obviously taking the situation almost as hard as Kurt was, and Steve hoped that they could get him to vent about it a little. He somehow doubted that Burt had anyone back home that he felt like he could talk to freely except possibly his wife, and something told Steve that Burt was the kind of man who wouldn’t want to worry his wife with his problems. 

“Danny said I’d be staying in his daughter’s room?” Burt half-asked softly, trying to smile back at Steve even though it was obviously forced.

Steve nodded. “Yeah, right here.” He moved quickly to Grace’s door and opened it, stepping aside for Burt to go in. “I know it’s a little bright, but Gracie’s bed is a lot more comfortable than the couch or the bed in the attic, and she won’t be sleeping here this weekend. She’ll be here tomorrow during the day, but that's all. They have a wedding rehearsal tonight for one of Rachel’s friends, and then first thing on Sunday they have church and the wedding.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Burt moved past Steve to carry his duffle into Grace’s room, looking around with a wry little chuckle as he took in the brightly colored ocean theme of the room. “Reminds me of Kurt’s room when he was little.” He put the duffle on the foot of Grace’s bed, looking at the brightly-colored dolphins and tropical fish on it as he murmured, “Kurt was obsessed with ‘ _The Little Mermaid’_ , wanted to sing just like her.” He looked at Steve, his eyes sad and pained even though there was a lot of pride there too as he added, “He sings even better, if you ask me.”

Steve smiled at Burt. “Danny said that his group did well at Nationals this year.”

“Made it in the top four in the country,” Burt agreed proudly, smiling suddenly. “He’s got the songs they did on his phone, you oughta listen to them some time. They were amazing and would have won if their director hadn’t let them throw big cups of glitter at the audience. It worked out okay for them at Regionals, but at Nationals one of the judges got some in her eye.”

“Ouch,” Steve said, amused. “I can see how that wouldn’t go over well.”

“Yeah, Schue says he’s not gonna listen to Rachel’s ideas so easily anymore,” Burt agreed, chuckling softly as he moved back towards the door. “She’s one of the best singers in the group, but she’s a little on the crazy side, if you ask me. Girl will do anything if she thinks it’ll help her win, no matter how stupid it is.”

Steve moved out of the way to head for the stairs with Burt, smiling a bit wryly because Danny had said similar things about him more than once. “Sounds like a few people I’ve known.”

“I bet, you being a SEAL,” Burt agreed, smiling wider as the smile finally reached his eyes. “My older brother was in the Marines in Desert Storm, and he always said that SEALs are all crazy-good at their jobs, heavy on the crazy.”

Steve grinned at Burt. “Danny says pretty much the same thing.”

Burt chuckled slightly, looking amused. “So I heard.”

Steve paused at the end of the hall to glance down into the living room, and he frowned slightly when he saw Kurt had curled up into a tight little ball in one of the living room chairs, his phone in hand as he texted someone. Kurt’s expression was calm, but the way he was holding himself practically screamed how stressed and uncomfortable the kid was to Steve. It made Steve want to go give the kid a hug and tell him everything would be okay, but he knew that would just make Kurt feel even more stressed so he restrained the impulse.

Steve looked at Burt, who had stopped by him, and asked very softly, “Who’s he talking to?”

“Probably one of his girlfriends, or maybe Blaine,” Burt murmured, watching his son with a sad, concerned expression. He glanced at Steve. “They dated for about a month and then decided they were better off as friends. Blaine’s moved on and is dating someone else now, but Kurt’s happy for him so I guess it worked out okay.”

Steve looked back down at Kurt and then murmured, “Maybe Blaine can come stay with us for a while later this summer.”

“Blaine told us this morning at the airport that he’s already working on getting his parents to take their summer vacation in Honolulu this year,” Burt said quietly. “His mom loves Hawai'i so much that they fly out every year, and he’s sure he can talk her into Oahu instead of the big island.” He started moving towards the stairs as he added even more softly, “He wanted to come with us today, but his parents said no.”

Steve moved after Burt. “Maybe you should talk to them. Kurt needs to see a friend or two this summer if we can swing it.”

“I think so, too,” Burt agreed quietly, and then he raised his voice to ask, “Who are you talking to, Kurt?”

Kurt glanced up from his phone, his expression a bit wary as he said quietly, “Puck.”

Burt's eyebrows went up in surprise. “You texted _Puck_?”

“No, I texted Mom to let her know we’re here,” Kurt corrected, still looking a little wary. “Puck asked if he could text me.” He shrugged his good shoulder as his phone beeped softly. “I said yes.”

“You sure you really want to talk to him, son?” Burt asked, walking over to stand near Kurt’s chair. “I know he’s one of your friends, but you two seem to argue an awful lot.”

Steve stood behind the couch, keeping plenty of room between him and Kurt as he watched and listened, hoping he looked non-threatening. The fact Kurt argued a lot with the guy he was talking to didn’t really worry Steve at all. If anything it made Steve glad, but he knew that he wasn’t normal. He and Danny argued all the time, almost as much as they had argued before the evening Steve had a little too much to drink and shut Danny up with a kiss in mid-rant for the first time, but Steve still figured that Danny was the best thing that had ever happened to him. The thought of Kurt finding anyone who could be for him what Danny was for Steve was a good thing as far as Steve was concerned

Kurt just looked at his dad for a few seconds and then met Steve’s gaze before he looked down and began to carefully type out a response to whatever the other kid had said. “We argue because we _can_ , Dad, not because we hate each other or something. Puck’s not nearly as much of a badass as he wants you to think.” He smiled very slightly, glancing at Steve again and then back down at his phone. “Mohawk notwithstanding.” 

Steve grinned. He had seen a mohawked kid in some pictures Finn had sent for Kurt's computer, a beefy young guy with a nice smile who had reminded Steve strongly of some pictures that Danny’s mother, Connie, had delighted in showing everyone when she visited the previous Christmas. Connie's photos had begun with snapshots of Danny as a baby and gone right on up through Danny’s high school and college days, and many of the high school photos had them all laughing, even Danny. Photos from Danny’s late teen years had all prominently featured a mohawk, which had seemed to go perfectly with the ripped jeans and white t-shirts Danny had preferred then, and he had looked more like he would end up in jail than like someone who would turn out to be an excellent cop. Even the photos of Danny with Lizzie and Kurt when Kurt was a toddler had all included the mohawk, though Danny had otherwise looked a bit less like a delinquent by then. Danny had finally gotten rid of the mohawk after he lost his baseball scholarship, but his family was surely never going to let him forget it.

The yellow Camaro Danny had bought when he was in high school had been in some of the photos as well, and hearing the story of Lucile the Camaro had made it a lot easier for Steve to understand Danny’s love for his current Camaro. Danny’s dad had helped rebuild Lucile’s engine and get it running when Danny was sixteen, and Danny had loved Lucile with a passion that defied all logic. Danny had driven the old car right up until his second year on the force in Newark, when his much younger brother Matty had borrowed Lucile to go to a New Year’s Eve party and crashed the car on his way home, driving drunk. Matty had been lucky to survive and had to be cut out of the car, which had been a total loss.

The phone beeped again and Kurt accepted the text, then his lips curved into a real smile that actually made his blue eyes brighten a little as he added, “And right now he’s being amusing.” He went back to typing for a moment and then looked up at Burt, still smiling slightly. “Besides, it’s not like he’s going to get me into trouble. Puck’s behaving himself, even being sweet. Our friends are all watching some movie, so he has no one else to talk to at the moment.” His smile twisted slightly as he looked back down. “Rather like me.”

“I hope you’re smart enough not to do any of the stuff he talks Finn into trying,” Burt said, looking a little lost

Steve’s grin faded as he wondered why Burt had let the comment that Kurt had no one to talk to go by like Burt hadn’t even heard it. Steve would have pointed out he was there if Grace had said something similar to him, and he made a mental note to make sure sometime soon that Kurt knew Steve and Danny were both there for him anytime Kurt needed to talk. 

After everything Kurt had been through, Steve was sure that Kurt had a lot of things on his mind that he needed to talk about to help him to get past them, not to mention questions about his new family. The day after Kurt finally agreed to go to Hawai'i, Burt had gone to see a lawyer and signed guardianship over to Danny so that Danny could make medical decisions for Kurt and get him into school when the time came. Kurt would be eighteen in eight months and technically able to make his own decisions afterwards, but until then he was legally Danny's responsibility. Danny had been glad to accept Kurt into the family, despite hating the reasons why it was necessary, but Steve wasn't at all sure that Kurt would accept the decisions Burt had made so easily. Steve had a sneaking suspicion that Kurt didn't know about the guardianship thing, or the fact Burt intended for Kurt to stay in Kailua until after he graduated.

Kurt answered another message from Puck before he spoke again, still smiling slightly as he looked up at Burt even though there was something resigned in his eyes that made Steve feel protective of him. “Dad, _Roscoe_ is too smart for most of Puck’s ideas.”

Burt laughed, looking surprised, but he didn’t argue the point, which made Steve smile again despite his worries about Kurt's state of mind. After texting and emailing back and forth with Finn several times during the last week he had gotten the feeling Finn wasn’t too bright, but he had been trying to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. From the sound of it, he probably should have gone with his first impression. Roscoe was the escape-artist Beagle puppy owned by their next-door neighbor.

Danny walked out of the kitchen and moved to stand by Steve. “You ready to fire up the grill, babe? Those steaks and the seafood won’t take long, but we skipped lunch and I bet Kurt and Burt are even hungrier than I am. It’s been a while since I flew out here, but I kinda doubt airplane food has gotten any better.”

“Me too,” Steve agreed, still amused as he turned to look at Danny. “I’ll go get it started.”

“I’ll start cleaning the shrimp, then,” Danny said. “How do we want them tonight?”

“Just toss them in a little olive oil and the steak seasoning,” Steve replied. “Skewer them and put ‘em right in on top of the steaks.”

“Sounds good to me,” Danny agreed cheerfully, looking at Kurt. “How hungry are you, kiddo? We’ve got rib-eye steaks, jumbo shrimp, and fresh ahi tuna to go with the salad I’m making.”

“I skipped breakfast,” Kurt said quietly, managing to give Danny a smile. “All I’ve had all day is a packet of peanuts and a couple of Diet Cokes, so that _all_ sounds delicious. Maybe small pieces of the steak and ahi? I’d like to try it all, but I’d hate to waste anything if I’m not as hungry as I think I am.”

“Don’t worry, kiddo, I got you covered,” Danny said, giving Kurt a grin and then looking over at Burt. “How about you?”

“I had breakfast and ate a burger in L.A., but that was hours ago,” Burt said, looking wry but smiling. “No fish for me, but the steak and shrimp sounds real good.”

Danny looked up at Steve, grinning. “And you want ahi and shrimp, right?”

“No, I’ll eat a steak too,” Steve disagreed, smirking at Danny’s surprise. “I don’t eat as much beef as you do, but those steaks I found looked really good.”

Danny laughed. “Alright then, four steaks, two tuna, and lots of shrimp it is.”

“Yep,” Steve agreed. He stepped closer to Danny and kissed him lightly, mostly because he could, and then headed for the _lanai_. “I ought to have the grill going by the time you get everything ready to cook.”

Danny walked back into the kitchen as he said cheerfully, “Probably faster. Cleaning shrimp always takes me longer than it does you.”

“That’s because I’ve been doing it since I could _walk_ , and you never cleaned a shrimp at all until I showed you how last summer,” Steve pointed out as he opened the back door, pretending he didn’t hear Burt chuckle at them or see Kurt’s smile as he ducked his head to go back to texting his friend.

“Details!” Danny said, laughing as he headed for the kitchen. “I can’t help it that the shrimp in Jersey come ready to eat!”

Steve just smiled and went out to light the grill. If he answered that one, he and Danny would end up arguing over the definition of truly fresh seafood again, and he wasn’t sure that Danny in full-on rant mode was the way Kurt needed to see him on Kurt’s very first night with them.

~*~

Danny was sprawled in the chair at the end of the big table out on the _lanai_ , holding a nearly empty beer in one hand and trying not to be obvious about the fact he was watching Kurt. 

Steve was next to Danny with his own beer, smiling and talking quietly to Burt, who was sitting across from Steve on Danny’s other side telling Steve about Finn winning a football game with the help of the Glee club. Somehow the girls in Glee club had ended up playing the first half of the football game, but Danny had tuned most of it out so he didn’t really know much more than that. Burt and Steve were getting a kick out of the story, which was all Danny really cared about. Burt was smiling and even laughing a little as he told the story, and Danny figured he hadn’t done that nearly enough in the last week.

Kurt was the one Danny was worried about at the moment. He figured Kurt should be interested in Burt’s story, since it was about Kurt’s friends, but instead Kurt was curled up in his chair at the far end of the table, looking tired and sad and seemingly ignoring them all as he watched the moonlit ocean, his cell phone still cradled in his good left hand even though it hadn’t beeped in a long while. He had gotten a lot of texts over the course of the evening, and that guy Puck had actually gotten Kurt to smile so Danny hadn’t brought up the fact Kurt would need to change his phone soon until after it seemed like Puck had gone to bed. 

Kurt had quickly explained that he had checked to make sure he had unlimited texting from anywhere in the states, including Hawai'i, and that he wasn’t going to talk on the phone at all because of the roaming charges. Danny had been worried Burt might get inflated phone bills on top of the cost of Kurt's hospital bills and the plane tickets, but Kurt had already thought of the problem, which reassured Danny a little. Kurt had been so quiet and distant all evening that Danny had begun to worry that the kid was just moving on autopilot, so he was glad to know that Kurt was still in there paying attention. 

Something in Kurt _was_ broken like Burt had told Danny, or at least very battered, but Danny hoped that Kurt would recover after he realized he really was safe with them. Kurt was hurting pretty damned bad, both physically and emotionally, but Danny hoped that the real Kurt would be back sooner rather than later. Kurt’s confidence in himself had always been one of the most striking things about him, his refusal to let anyone make him feel inferior simply because he wasn’t like other little boys, and Danny prayed that Kurt’s self-esteem wasn’t as shattered as it seemed. Kurt was definitely depressed, and the haunted look Danny had seen in Kurt’s eyes entirely too often over the course of the evening had made Danny want to just hold the kid and tell him it’d all be okay even though he knew Kurt wasn’t quite ready for that yet. 

Burt had told Danny that Kurt had improved a lot in the last week, more than Burt had thought he would at first, so Danny hoped that the kid would bounce back even more quickly now that he was far away from that asshole that tormented him. Kurt was quiet unless someone asked him a direct question, sure, and even then the answer would be fairly brief before Kurt fell silent and tried to fade into the background again, but at least Kurt wasn’t hiding in his room and avoiding them completely like Burt said he had done at home. He was interested in what was going on and didn’t act truly afraid, just tired and sad and kind of stressed, so Danny hoped that getting a good night’s sleep would help bring back a little more of the Kurt he had known.

Even Kurt’s choice of clothing had changed. The tight jeans and flamboyant shirts that Danny seen him wearing in recent photos of Kurt were gone, as were the brightly colored little bowties and scarves and the hats, replaced by baggy faded jeans and an oversized dark grey t-shirt that looked more like something Burt would wear. Kurt’s clothes were neat and clean and he had obviously made an effort with his hair, even put on makeup to try to cover up some of the bruises on his face as best he could, so Danny hoped the subdued clothes were just the most comfortable things Kurt owned. Kurt was obviously still in a lot of pain, and it was easy to understand that he would wear oversized clothes to avoid putting any more pressure on his injuries than he had to.

The worst problem Kurt had, at least from what Danny had seen so far, was that Kurt was scared of being touched, though Kurt wasn’t panicking and running away like Burt had said Kurt was doing just a few days earlier. The kid that Danny remembered had always been free with hugs and had loved to cuddle whenever he got the chance, and it hurt Danny to see Kurt so standoffish. The Kurt that Danny knew had always been so affectionate he made Burt uncomfortable, but Danny had never minded giving the kid a hug and making sure Kurt knew his Uncle Danny loved him exactly the way he was, so it was hard for Danny to watch Kurt sitting there obviously feeling so alone. He thought the kid needed a hug pretty damned badly at the moment, but he respected Kurt’s need for a little space and he was trying hard not to crowd him even though Kurt didn’t seem worried at all by having Danny get close to him as long as Danny didn’t touch him. 

Kurt was more wary of getting close to Steve than he was of Danny and Burt, but Danny could understand that after the background check he ran on that asshole Karofsky. The guy was a dark-haired football player that outweighed Steve by a good fifty pounds, but he was as tall as Steve was, and practically the first thing Steve had said in front of Kurt was pointing out he had been a SEAL and a football jock. The similarities stopped there, of course – the guy that hurt Kurt was ugly as sin, to start with, not to mention the fact Steve would die before he’d let anyone be treated like Kurt had been – but Steve’s height obviously made Kurt wary, and Kurt didn’t know him well enough to know Steve was nothing like the jocks that had evidently tormented Kurt for years. There was no way Kurt could really know that Steve was a sweetheart who would never hurt him in a million years, but Danny was sure it wouldn’t be long before Kurt began to trust Steve anyway. Kurt had already stopped trying to keep Danny and Burt between him and Steve, which Danny counted as a win, so he was going to just keep out of it and let Kurt see for himself how sweet and lovable Steve was when he was off-duty.

Kurt looked away from the ocean finally to reach towards the table, freezing when he caught Danny watching him. He just stared into Danny’s eyes for a moment and then blushed suddenly as he dropped his gaze and put his phone on the table so he could pick up his nearly empty wine glass. 

Danny had suggested a beer to Kurt at first to go with his dinner, hoping it would help Kurt relax a little, but the face Kurt had made had prompted Steve to offer the wine. Kurt had seemed to like that idea more, so Danny had made short work of opening the red wine Steve had put in the fridge a few days earlier. Kurt had seemed to enjoy the taste of the wine, which Danny knew would be pretty good for the simple reason the wines Steve picked out always were, but Kurt had still stuck to ice water with his meal, saving the wine until afterwards like it was his dessert. 

“You want me to get you some more?” Danny asked quietly, making Burt and Steve look at him and then at Kurt. “There’s plenty of wine, kiddo, and it’s not like a second glass is gonna hurt you. You sure won’t have to drive anywhere tonight.”

“Sure, Kurt,” Burt said quickly. “Have some more if you want.”

Kurt flushed a little redder, shaking his head. “This is fine, thank you.” He finished his wine and then set the glass back down, picking his phone back up before he lifted his gaze to meet Danny’s, asking, “Would you mind if I went to bed a bit early, though?” He glanced at Burt, including him in the question as he added softly, “It’s not late _here_ , but morning in Ohio was a long time ago and I’m exhausted.”

“Not at all,” Burt said quickly, giving Kurt a quick smile that looked only a little forced. “You do whatever you need to do.”

Kurt stood up immediately, wincing as he moved and then flexing his right leg gingerly several times with a pained expression before he limped around the table to hug his dad's shoulders for only a moment before he pulled away, leaving his good hand on Burt’s shoulder. “Good night, Dad.”

“Night, son,” Burt said quietly, being very still as he smiled up at Kurt. “Sleep well.”

“I'll try,” Kurt said, taking his hand away from Burt’s shoulder as he looked at Danny and then Steve. “Good night to you both. Dinner was delicious, thank you.”

“Glad you liked it, Kurt,” Steve said easily, smiling warmly at Kurt. “Sleep well.”

“G’night kiddo.” Danny smiled reassuringly at Kurt. “I remember how you used to like music when you sleep, so Steve set up your computer up to let you hook up your iPod to it to be your stereo until you have a chance to pick out one you like. Feel free to play some music or movies or whatever all night if you want. Me and Steve can sleep through a hurricane, so you won’t bother us as long as you don’t rattle the windows.”

“And I don’t mind either,” Burt added quickly. “You do whatever you need to do so you can sleep, son.”

“Thank you,” Kurt repeated softly. “Good night.” He limped into the house without another word, and they were all silent as they listened to him go. 

Burt waited until they stopped being able to hear Kurt’s booted footsteps inside the house and then he let his shoulders slump, putting his elbows on the table and just letting his head hang forward as he murmured, “God, I wish I knew what to do for him. I feel like I’m _abandoning_ him right now, but at home he’s jumping at every little sound, sure it’s that bastard coming after him again.” 

Danny reached over to put his hand on Burt’s back as he said softly, “Hey now, stop that. You’re doing everything you can for him. He needed to get away from Ohio, you said it yourself, and he’ll be safe here."

"I hope he _feels_ safe here," Burt murmured, not looking up. "He's _always_ scared at home now. I had to go by work to do payroll a couple days ago when I went to that lawyer, and while I was gone the neighbor’s mutt decided to dig under Finn's bedroom window. Kurt was watching Finn and Puck play video games, and it put him into a full-blown panic attack. He grabbed Finn’s baseball bat and had locked himself in the bathroom before the boys hardly knew what was going on, so terrified that he was throwing up again. Puck had to go out to check all the way around the house twice before Kurt even started to calm down, and even then he went to hide in his room the rest of the night." he sighed. "With the bat."

Danny had always loved Kurt and remembered the fearless little boy he used to be, and it killed him that Kurt had spent so much of the last week so terrified, but he tried hard not to let himself think about it. It wouldn't do any of them any good right then for him to get mad or cry, and it'd be an even chance which one he'd end up doing. "It’ll sink in soon that Karofsky’s a couple thousand miles away, and then he’ll start to feel safe here, Burt.”

Burt lifted his head to look at Danny, his eyes pained and sad. “He’s my son, and I love him, but I don’t even know what to say to him right now. We hardly talk at all, and when we do, he’s just not himself. It's like someone stripped away everything that made him _Kurt_ and left behind a shadow of who he used to be.”

Danny rubbed Burt’s back, meeting his gaze as he said gently, “He was hurt pretty bad, and it’s obvious that shithead did a number on him mentally. He just needs time right now. Once he has a chance for it to really sink in that he’s safe, he’ll start getting better.”

Burt nodded, visibly gathering himself. “You’re right, I know. I just keep thinking about it, and what that guy did to him…” He trailed off as he looked down again, obviously unable to finish.

“You’ve got to let that go, Burt,” Steve said quietly, making Burt and Danny both look at him. Steve’s expressive eyes were dark and sad, but he seemed calm and sure of himself as he went on. “It doesn’t matter what the guy did to him. That’s not your problem, and it’s not something Kurt needs or wants you to be thinking about. You need to stop treating him like he’s going to break if you look at him funny. He won’t. The kid’s tougher than that, and smart, and he’ll get through this. He just needs time, like Danny said.” Steve smiled at Burt. “I bet he’ll be back to normal by the time we bring him home for Thanksgiving.”

Burt looked at Steve for a long moment and then asked softly, “How can you be so sure?”

“Because Kurt isn’t the first person to be hurt by someone he couldn’t fight,” Steve said quietly as his smile faded away, his eyes still full of shadows and sadness. “I’ve been where he is, Burt. It was different for me – last time I ended up in chains for a while and was tortured several times, then when my unit got me free I had to get right back in the game to help take down the scum that got me – but I know what it can do to your head, making you jump at shadows and freak out if people touch you. It's hell trying to get past it, and it’s gonna take time, but he will get over it. That kid you love, the one in those old pictures Danny has and the pictures and videos Finn sent me of Kurt with his friends from Glee club? He’s got a lot of spirit, and from all I’ve learned about him, after all the harassment Finn told me about him breezing through, I _know_ Kurt’s too tough to let this break him. He just needs time to realize he’s safe and that the guy who hurt him is half a world away.”

Danny just stared at Steve for a moment, wondering not for the first time just how much hell Steve had gone through in the Navy. He knew it had gotten bad often enough to screw up Steve’s idea of what a bad situation actually _was_ , and that Steve had been injured so many times his body was littered with scars like Danny had freckles, but Steve never really talked about it. If Danny did ask Steve usually just told him it was classified and changed the subject, or claimed not to remember what he had been dreaming about when a nightmare left him wild-eyed and shaking, or worse, trembling and in tears. Steve didn’t have nearly as many nightmares anymore as he used to, but when they were on a really rough case Danny had learned to expect them both to be awakened by Steve’s bad memories working their way into his dreams. Steve often wouldn’t be able to sleep again afterwards, not until he worked off the tension left behind by the bad dreams anyway, but Danny didn’t mind losing an hour or two of sleep. Sometimes Steve needed to just get out and swim until he was calm, but more often he needed to be reminded that he was loved and would never be alone again, which was something Danny was always willing to do.

“I hope you’re right,” Burt said quietly. “But I still feel like shit for leaving him.”

“Well, you shouldn’t. Steve is right,” Danny said quickly, drawing Burt’s attention to him. “I haven’t been where he is, but I know the kid. He’ll be alright, Burt. Have faith.”

Burt looked at Danny for a long moment and then nodded slowly. “Faith. Right.” He smiled crookedly. “I used to have some of that.”

“Time to scrape up some more then,” Danny said, smiling. “I know it’s not easy to do, but you need to trust us. We’ll take care of him.”

“Lizzie _always_ turned to you when things got rough,” Burt agreed quietly, looking into Danny's eyes. “I know if she was still around, you’re who she would want to help Kurt right now. That's why I called you. She wouldn't hear of anyone else watching over Kurt when he was little, especially after she got sick. She told me you were the only one besides us who loves him like your own son, and that you’d do anything you had to do to make what was happening a little easier on him.”

“We both will,” Danny said, reaching to put his empty beer bottle on the table. “And it’ll be easier here than it would have been if I was still back in Jersey. I never would have believed it a year ago, Burt, but there’s something special about this place.” He settled back into his chair again, smiling at Burt. “Two years ago I would have called you a liar if you told me the day would come that I would say this, but I wouldn’t go back to living in Jersey if you paid me to.” 

Burt’s eyes widened, surprised, and Danny was sure that Burt was remembering how much Danny had bitched about missing Jersey while he attended college in Ohio. 

“I was a mess when I came out here,” Danny said, giving Burt a crooked smile. “I was still all screwed up over Rachel cheating on me with a rich guy she met at her cousin's wedding, and then the divorce, and the hell of knowing Rachel still had the power to _make_ _me_ move so far from everything I knew if I wanted to see Grace. I had no friends here, no family, and had to _beg_ to see my daughter even the one weekend a month the old custody papers said I got. I hated Hawai'i so much for not being home that it got a lot worse before it got better, but I know now that most of my problem was the way I hid away in a crappy apartment all the time, too busy hating that I was so lonely to notice that I could be happy here if I let myself make some friends.” He chuckled slightly, looking over at Steve. “And then one day Steve was lurking around one of my crime scenes, and he decided that he was going to make me his partner whether I liked it or not.” 

Steve smiled at Danny, the shadows finally leaving his eyes. “You know you’re glad I did.”

“Now, yes,” Danny agreed, giving Steve an amused look. “But then I _really_ wanted to shoot you.” He looked back at Burt and went on without giving Steve a chance to reply. “The governor made him head of our task force that day and told him to find the people he wanted to work with, and the next morning Steve dragged me kicking and screaming out of my apartment at dawn so he could make me play chauffeur for him while we hunted down the guy who killed his dad. By the end of the case I had resigned myself to being stuck with him, and he spent the next six months making me learn to live again no matter how much I argued about it. Once I stopped working so hard at being miserable and really let it sink in that I was never going to be alone again whether I wanted him around or not, everything turned around.”

Steve was grinning, happy and smug as he reached for Danny’s hand to give it a squeeze. “And I won’t let Kurt brood himself into an early grave, either.” He looked at Burt, adding, “Give us a few months to show Kurt the islands and do what we can for him. If he’s not doing much better by the time we bring him home for Thanksgiving, we’ll help you figure out what to do next.”

Burt looked at Steve for a long moment and then smiled. “You got a deal.”

~*~

Kurt was curled up on his left side under the comforter and sheets that Danny and Steve had bought for him, glad they had picked out such warm covers because the breeze off the ocean was cool late at night. 

Falling asleep had been surprisingly easy when he went to bed, but it didn't last despite his exhaustion and how soft and comfortable his new bed was. He had been awakened after barely two hours by a nightmare that left him shaking and crying as he wished his mind would stop torturing him already, and he hadn’t been able to drift off again. What Karofsky had done to him the night he was attacked had been bad enough, but every time he dozed off his subconscious seemed determined to come up with some new scenario that was even worse. 

Kurt had gotten by at home by taking a few sleeping pills every night to knock him out deeply enough he wouldn’t dream, or at least didn't remember anything when he woke up, which was the important part to him. His problem at the moment was that he had run out of them the night before, and he was so stressed all day that he forgot to get more like he had planned to. He didn’t want to bother anyone by waking them to ask if they would run to the nearest all-night gas station for enough to get by for a few days, so he was just lying there in bed watching the screen saver on the nearby computer and hoping he might sleep again eventually. 

Watching the screen saver as it slowly scrolled through pictures that he was sure Finn must have sent for him had been a good distraction from the nightmare, at least at first. Everyone in Glee was there, plus Blaine, and Coach Sylvester, and Schue, and Becky, and Miss Pillsbury, and even Coach Beiste. There were dozens of pictures from his parents’ wedding that Kurt had kept on his own computer, his favorite moments of what had been one of his happiest days in the last year, a picture of the neighbor’s sweet little dog Roscoe looking innocent and pretending he wasn’t just digging up Carole’s flowers, and one photo Kurt thought Finn must have taken of Kurt sitting in the grass holding Roscoe in his lap and laughing while the Beagle pup happily licked Kurt’s chin.

In short, his new screen saver captured everyone Kurt had been forced to leave behind in happier times. It should have made him want to smile, but instead he had eventually realized he was crying. He wasn’t going to see any of them again for a long time, and that simple fact left him feeling very sad and alone.

Kurt’s phone beeped softly after a while and he rolled onto his back so he could use his left hand to reach for the bedside table, careful not to unplug his phone as he looked at the screen. He wasn’t really surprised when he saw a photo of Puck wearing Lauren’s glasses and sprawled in Mike’s lap, making a kissy face while Mike laughed and tried to push him away. He didn't know anyone else who would be up so early in the morning.

Kurt had taken the picture at Rachel’s one and only attempt at having a party with alcohol, what seemed like years ago. Puck had turned out to be a sweet, affectionate drunk who ended up kissing everyone who was there that night except for Kurt and Finn, who were both too sober to let Puck get near them while he was so smashed. The most amusing kiss by far that night had been when Puck kissed Mike, who had seemed to enjoy it, but Kurt had been so busy staring at them that he hadn’t managed to get a picture of the actual kiss. Mike and Puck had both dissolved into giggles after the kiss, swatting at each other like a couple of little girls in an utterly adorable way until Puck tried to go in for a second kiss, which was when Kurt had taken the snapshot he set to pop up whenever Puck texted him.

The picture that popped up when Puck called was a very different one. Kurt had taken it one day in the auditorium when Puck thought no one was paying attention to him while he played with his guitar. Puck had been sitting on the edge of the darkened stage, smiling softly as he picked out a complicated melody that Kurt hadn’t recognized, his gaze on his fingers while he played, and Kurt had taken a picture before he really even paused to think about it. He thought the photo captured the _real_ Puck perfectly, just like the ringtone he had chosen for him, ‘ _Venus As A Boy’_ by Bjork. 

The only ringtone Kurt had found for the song was the opening instrumental and just a small snippet of the lyrics, but Kurt knew the whole song well anyway. He couldn't hear even a few notes of it anymore without thinking about Puck and the night Puck had found out about it. Kurt had been doing the dishes while Puck took out the trash, and Puck had just come back in when he tried to call Lauren and accidentally called Kurt instead. Puck had laughed and reached out to snag Kurt’s phone off the counter before Kurt could dry his soapy hands, but when he saw the photo that accompanied it he had gone very still, just listening and looking at the picture until Bjork's voice finally began to sing, " _His wicked... sense of humor, suggests... exciting sex."_ The song had begun to repeat then and Puck had ended the call, then put Kurt's phone back on the counter and left the room without a word or even a glance at Kurt. Puck was never shy about letting anyone know when he was annoyed so Kurt knew Puck wasn’t angry about it, but other than that he still had no clue what Puck thought of it. He had considered changing it afterwards, but he finally decided that it was his phone and he’d leave it as it was unless Puck asked him to do differently. Puck never had, so Kurt had kept it. He still thought the song was very fitting for Puck, and he thought the photo captured the real Puck, that sweet adorable boy who used to be called Noah, much better than any other he had ever seen.

Kurt accepted the text and then let out a soft little surprised huff of a laugh that barely made a sound when he read, ‘ _grr argh.’_ He was wondering why Puck was quoting Buffy at him at five in the morning for only a moment before another text arrived. _‘u awake yet? or still?’_

_ ‘yes.’  _ Kurt didn’t bother to elaborate, as much because he was typing with one thumb as because he didn’t think Puck needed him to. He was sure Puck could fill in the blanks without him spelling it out. He wasn’t sure what time it was in Hawai'i but he knew it was getting late, and Puck knew more than most people did about what Kurt had been through recently. Puck had spent an hour in Kurt's room after the last time Kurt saw Karofsky peering in a window at him, and Kurt had been so upset he was talking to Puck about how freaked out he felt before he really knew why. Kurt barely remembered half what he had said, too upset for it to be anything but a blur, but he knew from experience that Puck would remember every word. Puck made it a disconcerting habit to remember things that people thought he hadn’t noticed happening at all, though it might be weeks or even longer before Puck said anything about it.

_ ‘5am is 2 damn early 2 b awake.’ _

Kurt smiled slightly. _‘why r u up then?’_

The reply came almost instantly. ‘ _got 2 make dinner 4 mom. she gets off @ 6 & wants roast chicken.’_

_ ‘then why r u txting me? u should b cooking. _ ’ 

‘ _birds n the oven_ ,’ Puck replied immediately. ‘ _i got 45 min 2 kill & i decided 2 c if ur up._’

Kurt’s smile turned wry. ‘ _i havnt been sleeping much.’_

‘ _bad dreams again?’_

Kurt blinked and his smile faded away, but it didn’t even occur to him to lie. _‘yes & now i cant sleep.’_

There was a short pause before Puck replied again. ‘ _what have u been doing when u couldnt sleep?’_

_ ‘taking pills,’ _ Kurt admitted. _‘but i ran out.’_

‘ _u tried music? helps me sleep when its bad_.’

Kurt stared at the screen for a long moment and then typed slowly, ‘ _when its bad?’_

‘ _ur not the only 1 w nightmares princess_ ,’ Puck replied. ‘ _juvie is hell on earth_.’

Kurt nibbled on his lower lip. ‘ _it was that bad 4 u?_ ’

‘ _i didnt get hurt as bad as u but it was 100x worse than school_ ,’ Puck replied after a minute or so.

Kurt wanted to ask questions, wanted to find out if that’s why Puck was still so angry over what Karofsky had done to Kurt, but he didn’t have time to before Puck texted again.

‘ _they did stuff tht wasnt ez 2 c. made sure clothes coverd it & i knew not 2 turn them in_.’

Kurt closed his eyes, thinking for a long moment before he opened them again and started typing. He had to tell _someone_ what really happened, and he was starting to think that Puck would understand better than anyone else he knew. ‘ _k tried 2 kiss me n stuff tht nite but i kneed him n the balls as hard as i could. thats why he beat me up._ ’

‘ _i know_ ,’ Puck replied. ‘ _k told us after we beat the shit out of him last nite_.’

Kurt’s eyes widened, thumbing the caps lock on to type quickly, ‘ _U DID WHAT?!’_

Kurt had to wait so long for a reply that he was about to text Puck again when he suddenly got two messages at once, ‘ _we waited til burt was n hawaii with u so they couldnt try 2 pin it on him & then we beat the shit out of k_,’ followed by, _‘the worthless ass was cryin like a little girl & beggin us not 2 hurt him anymore. sam took videos if u want 2 c. i cn have him send it 2 u.’ _Kurt barely had time to read both texts before Puck sent another. ‘ _did u know k is gay? after we beat him down he blubbered lots of shit abt how ur both gay & u want him like he wants u but u wont admit it._’

_ ‘i knew hes gay but thts so not imprtnt rt now! wht if he tells his dad?!’ _ Kurt typed quickly as he could, on the edge of panic. ‘ _they could put u back in jail u dumbass!_ ’

‘ _not when i got a alibi_ ,’ Puck answered, then sent another message almost immediately. ‘ _sam sanny quinn lauren & me planned it all careful._ _the girls will swear we were with them & so will quinns mom.'_ The second message was followed quickly by a third. ' _she saw us go in her basement for movie nite & we were all there when she checked on us at 9 & when she said time 2 go at 11._’

‘ _how did u manage all that?_ ’ Kurt asked, feeling a little awed. Puck had texted him quite a few times the night before while the others watched a movie and he had seemed perfectly normal, not like he had just beaten someone to a pulp. Mike and Sam might have gone to help him, but Kurt was sure Puck had done most of it. Sam wasn't the type to fight much, and neither was Mike.

‘ _very carefully! :D even brit is covered. she thinks she dreamed us being gone. lol_ ’

Kurt rolled his eyes, slightly amused despite himself. _‘im serious noah!’_

‘ _mike & sam & me went n the bathroom & out a window. quinn sanny brit tina artie lauren & aretha watched a movie while we took care of k & then we went back n the window w no1 the wiser.' _There was a short pause and then another text arrived. ' _we even wore gloves artie got 4 us so we wouldnt beat up our hands too bad. it was awesome. B- >_’

Kurt smiled at the smirky face, still a bit wide-eyed. ‘ _u risked juvie again 4 me?_ ’

‘ _he messed wit u princess. he had 2 pay._ ’ There was a short pause and then Puck sent another text. ‘ _its not like i did it alone. all of us were in on it but artie couldnt go out the window.’_

‘ _even finn_?’ Kurt asked, his smile fading away again. ‘ _u didnt mention him._ ’

‘ _we didnt tell him cuz i didnt want him 2 try 2 lie abt it if ppl ask him wht happend. rach knew & agreed w me so she got finn to hang at her place w her & her dads,’_ Puck sent after a moment, followed by, _‘i was there when they told ur dad how they found u. finn & brit don’t know how bad k beat u up or why & nobody is gonna tell them_.’

‘ _thank you,_ ’ Kurt replied, surprised but glad. ‘ _he wasnt at the hospital?’_

_ ‘burt sent him with mrs h 4 coffee when they told us the doc would be out soon. finn was a wreck & ur dad didnt want him 2 know if it was really bad _ .’

Kurt closed his eyes, a little surprised how glad he was to hear that. He just relaxed and was still for a moment before he looked at the phone again to reply to Puck. ‘ _plz tell finn that k only hit me. he probably thinks k did worse & blames himself. he was supposed 2 b with me but he wouldnt go.’ _

Puck didn’t reply, and after a minute or two Kurt sent, ‘ _noah please! he knows k cornered me at school a few times & did stuff.’_

‘ _u sure I should b the 1 2 talk 2 finn about that?_ ’

‘ _no1 else knows but u_.’

‘ _not even ur dad?’_

Kurt closed his eyes. Just the _thought_ of talking to his dad about some of the things Karofsky had done to him made him want to hide. ‘ _dad doesnt ever need 2 know abt k feeling me up & kissing me_.’

‘ _ill tell finn 4 u_.' Puck finally replied, and then another text arrived almost immediately. ‘ _im sorry i didnt keep u safe like i promised._ ’

‘ _i didnt expect u 2 follow me around 2 protect me_.’

‘ _i would have been on u like white on rice if u told me the shit k was doing_.’ The text had barely arrived before Puck sent another. ‘ _i think a movie w u & ur girls sounds like fun_.’

Kurt paused before he replied, thinking about his night at the movies with Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel for the first time in a week. It surprised him to realize it would have been fun to have Puck there with them. _‘u would have liked snarking at the movie w me. it was so bad it was funny.’_

_ ‘im sure! it has *sparkly vampires* n it _ .’

Kurt smiled. ‘ _rach thought edward was wonderful.’_

‘ _rach has the worst taste n movies EVER_ ,’ Puck sent quickly. ‘ _she dragged me 2 the 1st with her. alone!’_

Kurt giggled softly, picturing Puck’s face, stuck in a theater alone with Rachel to watch ' _Twilight'_. ‘ _i feel 4 u.’_

‘ _u should! i will never get thos 2 hrs of my life back._ ’

Kurt giggled again and was about to reply to Puck when he heard someone tap very quietly on his door. _‘brb, some1 at door.’_

Kurt laid his phone aside and ignored the next beep as he rolled carefully to the side of his bed, whimpering softly at the way his ribs, shoulder, and thigh protested the movement. He had to pause a moment on the edge of the bed to catch his breath before he stood and limped over to the door to tell his dad he was okay. When he opened it, he was surprised to see Steve standing there instead, looking rumpled but wide awake in a snug black tank top and grey boxers that made Kurt abruptly have to rethink his earlier opinion that Steve wasn’t very muscular. He was, he just wasn’t built as heavily through the shoulders as Danny was so it was easy to miss until you saw him without all the baggy clothes that softened the lines of his body and hid his impressive tattooed biceps. 

“Are you okay, Kurt?” Steve asked softly, obviously concerned. “I thought I heard you crying.”

Kurt flushed, dragging his gaze away from Steve’s tattoos and forcing himself not to look at anything but Steve’s face. “I’m sorry, Steve. I didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered, wishing for the first time that he had listened to Danny and turned on some music. Then Steve probably never would have heard him giggle at Puck, and he wouldn’t have had to try to explain why he was up so late and had been giggling even though it was sure to be obvious he had been crying, too. It was _always_ obvious when he had been crying, which was one of the reasons he so hated to do it.

“You didn’t wake me,” Steve murmured, shifting to lean against the doorjamb. “I went down to get a midnight snack for Danny and heard you on my way back.” He paused as he gave Kurt a searching look, and then asked very softly, “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

Kurt felt his face heating up more as he realized Steve looked so rumpled because he had been having sex with Danny, not because he had been asleep. He noticed finally then that Steve was barely an arm’s length away from him and wondered why he didn’t feel nervous about the idea like he had earlier that evening. Steve was closer to Kurt than he had been since they were in the truck, close enough for Kurt to smell a hint of cologne and the sweat that lingered on Steve’s skin, but it didn’t make Kurt want to move away like it had when Steve got a little too close in the airport terminal, and Kurt didn’t really know what had changed. He still didn’t want Steve to touch him – just thinking about it made Kurt uncomfortable – but having Steve lean against the wall just a few feet away from him was something he realized suddenly that he could handle.

Steve still looked concerned, waiting patiently for Kurt to answer him for a minute so before he murmured gently, “You can talk to me if you need to, Kurt. I’m not your dad, but I’ve been through enough that I can handle anything you need to talk about, and I might even be able to help.” He smiled crookedly. “Being tortured by the enemy really isn’t all that different from being beaten by a bully, I would think, and I’ve been there more than once.”

Kurt stared at Steve in surprise for a moment and then asked very softly, “How did you get away?”

“I had a good team,” Steve replied quietly, “and they moved mountains to get me out. I’ve got scars still, but these days most of the worst ones are on the inside.”

Kurt swallowed hard. “I know what you mean.” He hesitated slightly and then admitted, “I had a… really _bad_ dream a while ago, and now I can’t sleep. Puck just woke up though, and he’s been texting to keep me company. You must have heard me laughing at something he said, not crying.”

Steve looked surprised. “He got you to laugh after a nightmare?”

Kurt felt like his face was still on fire as he nodded. “He can be very amusing when he wants to be, even at five am.” He paused and then explained, “His mom is a nurse who works nights sometimes, and when she does he gets up early to have her dinner ready for her when she gets in. He was bored waiting for the food to cook, so he texted to see if I was up.”

“I’m glad he managed to distract you,” Steve murmured, giving Kurt a sudden warm, happy smile that made Kurt smile slightly in return as it dawned on him why Steve probably didn’t scare him anymore. Steve was tall and impressively built, yes, but watching him with Danny earlier that night had left Kurt with no doubt that Steve was also about as likely to hurt him as Roscoe was. Kurt felt like he could trust anyone that Danny loved as much as he clearly loved Steve, who was sweet and gentle and utterly devoted to Danny. 

“You need anything before I head back to bed?” Steve asked after a few moments, still smiling.

Kurt almost said no, but something made him hesitate, looking into Steve’s warm blue-grey eyes for a moment before he asked very softly, “Do you happen to have any sleeping pills? I ran out.”

“What do you usually take?” Steve asked, curious. 

“The maximum strength Unisom,” Kurt replied quietly. “I’ll try anything that works, though. I’ve slept about three hours out of the last thirty or so, which is less than half as long as I need if I’m going to be remotely rational in the morning.”

“I don’t keep sleeping pills anymore, but I’ll be glad to go get you some,” Steve murmured. "It'll only take me a few minutes."

“I'd hate for you to go out so late just for me,” Kurt protested. “I’ll fall asleep eventually.”

“I don’t mind, Kurt. Midnight’s not late to me,” Steve said, still looking amused. “Danny and I get in from work later than this half the time, sometimes not until dawn if we have a case. I’ll just pull on some pants and let him know where I’m going, and then I’ll head out. There’s a convenience store just up the road.”

Kurt wanted to protest again, but instead he found himself smiling at Steve and feeling shy as he murmured, “Thank you, Steve.”

“Anytime, kiddo,” Steve replied softly, his expression softening into that warm smile again. “You go talk to your friend, and I’ll be back in a little while with something to help you sleep.”

“Alright,” Kurt agreed quietly, a little surprised to realize he didn’t mind Steve calling him ‘kiddo’ like Danny always had. “Thank you.”

Steve just smiled a little wider and turned away to walk silently down the hall to the room he shared with Danny, disappearing inside and closing the door behind him so carefully Kurt couldn’t hear it.

Kurt turned away from the hall, closing his door and then moving to climb carefully into bed again, wincing and biting his lip as the movement made his shoulder and thigh ache and jarred his sore ribs. He settled on his back and then relaxed slowly, just breathing for a minute or two and waiting for the pain to subside a little before he reached for his phone to check his texts. 

There were three messages waiting from Puck. ‘o _k,’_ had been followed by, ‘ _theres nothing on tv at 530,_ ’ which made Kurt smile slightly. The third text was longer, and made Kurt’s smile fade even though he suddenly felt warm as he read it, wondering again why Puck cared so much. ‘ _u better let me kno ur ok when u finish talking 2 ur dad. if u dont ill b checking my phone all day worrying abt u.’_

‘ _im fine_ ,’ Kurt replied, smiling slightly again. ‘ _thank you_.’

‘ _4 what?_ ’ Puck sent almost immediately.

_ ‘its nice 2 kno some1 cares.’ _

‘ _lots of ppl care bout u they just arent awake_ ,’ Puck replied, then another text arrived right after that one. ‘ _im the only niteowl u really kno bsides sam & he & the others dont want 2 bother u until u say its ok.’_

‘ _i dont mind if they want 2 talk,_ ’ Kurt typed quickly. ‘ _u can tell evry1 its ok to txt or email. i made sure my cell has unlimited txt here.’_

‘ _how bout ur minutes? is it ok if i call u?_ ’

Kurt smiled, pleased that Puck wanted to really talk to him. They hadn’t ever really spoken a lot until after Kurt came back to McKinley, but Puck had surprisingly become one of his closest friends since then. Whenever Puck wasn’t stuck doing something for his Nana or trailing along after Lauren like an overgrown puppy he could usually be found at the Hummel home, either playing video games with Finn or just hanging out while he waited for Finn to get home. Carole always tried hard to make Puck feel welcome – mostly to keep Puck from getting into trouble again, Kurt thought – and Burt and Puck had similar taste in television, so Puck could often be found sprawled on their couch watching television with Kurt’s dad. 

‘ _major roaming chrg if i talk,_ ’ Kurt typed carefully. _‘uncle d is going 2 get me a local cell soon tho & they already set up a pc n my room 4 me 2 skype._’

‘ _skype works! :D how do u like danny & his guy? they nice?_’

‘ _theyre both great_ ,’ Kurt replied quickly, his smile widening further. ‘ _d is still my fave uncle & steve is really nice evn tho hes a seal._’

‘ _dude! a gay seal?_ ’ Puck sent, followed quickly by, ‘ _the navy special forces guys?_ ’

Kurt almost laughed, easily able to picture Puck’s surprised expression. ‘ _yes the navy guys. steve was a seal b4 he met danny & got out 2 b with him. theyre so n love & so sweet 2gether._’

‘ _thats so cool! none of my relatives r cool unless u count nanas bro thats a rabbi_.’ Puck followed that text almost immediately with another that said, ‘ _i dont. boring old fart keeps givin me hell 4 not keeping kosher._ ’

Kurt blinked in surprise, amused. ‘ _i thought u did._ ’

‘ _used 2 until finn got me 2 try bacon_ ,’ Puck replied. ‘ _the big g wouldnt make it taste that awesome if he expected me not 2 eat any_.’

Kurt smiled. ‘ _u r so bad_.’

‘ _i sure am_.’ Puck followed that text quickly with another. ‘ _once this jew tried a bacon chzburger it was all over_. _im a firm believer lifes 2 short not 2 enjoy it if i can._ ’

Kurt giggled softly. ‘ _just dont have 2 much fun,_ ’ he typed quickly. ‘ _i dont want u in jail._ ’

‘ _u & me both!'_

' _good! so no more beating up k,'_ Kurt said, smiling. 

Puck didn't reply, and Kurt's smile faded away. 

After a minute or so Kurt tried again, typing, _'please noah! promise me! i couldn't take it if u went back 2 jail 4 me. i have enough nitemares.'_

_ 'i promise _ ,’ Puck sent finally, then a moment later Kurt got another text. ' _don't worry princess_. _no more stupid stunts 4 this asshole. i'll be good.'_

‘ _thank u,_ ’ Kurt typed with a little ghost of a laugh, feeling relieved. ‘ _but ur not an asshole. not n e more. u just dont think sometimes_.’

_ ‘close enuff.’ _

Kurt heard a truck start outside and felt a pang of guilt that Steve was going out so late for him, and he was texting Puck again before he really thought about it. ‘ _steve just left 2 go get me some unisom. i feel kind of bad abt it but he wouldnt listen when i said id be ok.’_

‘ _im glad he didnt listen 2 u,_ ’ Puck replied quickly. ‘ _was it him at ur door?’_

‘ _he heard me laugh at u & thought i was crying. he wanted 2 be sure I was ok.’_

_ ‘good u need smbody lookin out 4 u.’ _

Kurt smiled. ‘ _i think steve & danny will._’ He hit send and then added almost immediately, ‘ _its going 2 b v diff here 4 me.’_

‘ _im glad._ _good diff i hope?’_

‘ _i think so,_ ’ Kurt tapped out, able to type a little faster than when he began because he was getting more used to texting one-handed. ‘ _s & d kissed n a busy airport 2day & ppl didnt care. d said lots of ppl here r bi & no 1 cares xcept tourists that mostly stay n honolulu.’ _Kurt hit send and then realized Puck likely didn’t know where he was so he added, ‘ _we r n kailua across the mtns from there. s & d have a gorgeous old house rt on the beach.'_

_ 'whats the ocean like?'  _ Puck asked.

_ 'huge. the waters so blue & looks like it goes on 4ever. _ ' Kurt paused and then sent another text. _'i never knew the ocean was so beautiful b4. i love watching the water in the moonlight.’_

Puck didn’t reply for a minute or two and then sent finally, ‘ _sounds like it really is paradise_.' Kurt’s eyes widened a bit at that, surprised, and then Puck sent another text. _‘im happy 4 u princess. u shld b someplace beautiful & safe 2 get ur diva on & love n e 1 you want.’_

‘ _thank u noah_ ,’ Kurt replied, still surprised but smiling again and feeling touched. ‘ _I didnt want 2 come but i think maybe im happy 4 me 2.’_

‘ _:D_ ‘

~*~

The sun was just about to peek over the horizon the next morning when Steve was awakened by Danny mumbling, “Babe, let me up. I gotta piss.”

Steve realized he was half on top of Danny, who was sprawled on his belly, and he smiled as he gave Danny a squeeze, kissing his shoulder lightly before he rolled away. “Time to get up anyway,” he murmured. “I’d better go out soon if I want time for a swim this morning. You have to go get Gracie in an hour or so.”

Danny crawled off the bed, yawning widely as he stood, and Steve smirked as his gaze went to the tattoo on the left cheek of Danny’s ass. Danny still had a fit every time he mentioned the pale blue-grey seal balancing a pineapple on its nose, and he’d given Steve hell for _hours_ after Kono caught a glimpse of it one day when Danny’s towel slipped while they were hosing off after a takedown that ended with all three of them in a truly nasty pit at a pig farm, but Steve loved it. He thought he had been truly inspired when he suggested they get tattoos instead of wearing rings to show their commitment to each other, and he was glad that he had designed Danny’s tattoo himself. 

It hadn’t been easy for Steve to help the artist get the tattoo just right, no matter how often he might have doodled on mission briefing notes in the past, but seeing it on Danny’s ass was always enough to make him smirk and want to nibble at that pineapple. The seal’s shoulders and chest had been exaggerated to make it look kind of muscular, and it even had a tiny silhouette of the eagle, anchor, and trident SEAL emblem on the chest to make the joke a little more obvious should anyone catch a glimpse of it. Steve was fairly certain no one else – besides the tattoo artist – knew about the initials almost hidden in the pattern of the pineapple, but that was really just the way he liked it. 

Steve's tattoo in the same spot of a rooster wearing Danny's badge had been totally worth it. He and Danny had agreed to do the tattoos for each other sight unseen, so Steve hadn't known he was going to spend the rest of his life with a chicken on his ass until it was already there. It didn't fit in with Steve's other tattoos at all, but Danny still smirked when he saw it, and he liked to nibble on it nearly as much as Steve liked to snack on Danny's pineapple, so it worked out well even though Steve's buddy who did the tattoos _still_ teased him about getting a tattoo of Danny's 'cock'.

Danny’s muscles flexed and rippled as he stretched both arms over his head with a low groan, drawing Steve’s attention upwards from Danny’s ass. Danny didn’t go to a gym anymore, but they both led very active lives when they were on duty and Danny liked to swim and run with Steve and it showed. Five-0’s usual daily routine was much more physical than the average detective’s day, and when combined with their hobbies – Kono’s surfing, Chin’s spear fishing, Steve’s refusal to give up his SEAL fitness regimen, and Danny’s habit of tagging along with Steve – they all did plenty to keep them in top condition. When things got really slow the team would sometimes spar in the basement gym at headquarters, but most of the time they could count on having plenty of bad guys to fight so it wasn’t really necessary. 

Danny padded silently into the bathroom, seeming not to even care that he was naked as the day he was born, and Steve was glad to see that Danny wasn’t limping anymore. Danny had re-injured his knee a few days before while they were chasing down a drug dealer wanted in connection with a murder, but Danny had taken something for the swelling immediately and even wore his knee brace for two days after Steve threatened to haul him to the doctor kicking and screaming if he had to. Steve was glad that the brace seemed to have helped, and he made a mental note to insist on Danny wearing it a lot more often. Danny’s short temper for the hour or so it took him to cool off after their fight over the brace hadn’t been fun, but seeing him walking comfortably again so soon made it worth Danny’s sarcastic annoyance while they finished up the case.

“Only you would _want_ to get up at dawn on _Saturday_ to go exercise,” Danny muttered in the bathroom a moment later, just loud enough for Steve to hear him.

“That mean you’re not swimming with me today?” Steve asked quietly, amused as he rolled to the edge of the bed and sat up. Sometimes Danny went back to bed while he was out, but not often. Danny enjoyed watching him in the water too much to miss out on it unless he was running short on sleep.

Danny didn’t answer until he walked back out of the bathroom a minute or two later, looking like he couldn’t quite believe what he was saying as he murmured softly, “No, I’m gonna go with. I’m just saying, you’re the only person I know who _likes_ driving yourself so hard this early in the morning.”

“I like to swim,” Steve agreed as he reached for Danny’s hips, tugging him closer. “Makes me feel like all is right with the world, especially when I can swim with you.”

Danny smiled, lifting his hands to the sides of Steve’s neck as he looked down into Steve’s eyes. “I know, and I enjoy seeing you so happy, so it works for both of us.” 

Danny leaned down to give Steve a kiss that Steve responded to with a pleased little sound that wasn’t quite a growl as they deepened the kiss into something more heated. They were long past the point where things like a little morning breath mattered to either of them, and had been since before Danny actually moved in. They weren’t the least bit squeamish, so there weren’t many things that could keep them from wanting to kiss each other. Even pineapple didn’t bother Danny as long as he tasted it in Steve’s mouth, and Steve’s own loathing for licorice always fell by the wayside on the rare occasion Danny got a craving for the stuff.

Danny was the one to pull away first, looking relaxed and amused as he murmured, “Hold that thought for after our swim, babe.” He smirked. “I got plans for you in the shower.”

Steve smirked too, running his thumbs the length of the line of muscle along Danny’s hips, teasing but completely avoiding the thick cock that was so close, silent proof of Danny’s slowly building arousal. “We could always go for round two in the shower.”

Danny snorted, grinning as he pulled away from Steve and moved over to their dresser. “Not today. We got too much to do for me to want to start off my day already needing a nap.”

Steve snickered and stood, ignoring his own nakedness as he teased softly, “Getting old, Danno?”

“Nope, just getting smarter,” Danny replied quickly, throwing a pair of swim trunks at Steve. “Get those on and get moving.”

“Yes sir,” Steve agreed with an impish grin, catching the trunks and then moving to quickly grope Danny's ass before he ducked into the bathroom to avoid anything else Danny might throw at him.

Danny grinned and started to put on his own trunks as he muttered to himself, “Lucky I love him.”

Steve smirked as he dropped the trunks on the counter as he moved to the toilet to take a leak, looking out the window while he did and smiling when he saw the water was calm and clear, perfect for a nice long swim. Danny had slowly been building up his endurance in the water over the last several months and he was finally to the point that if he wanted to he could easily swim out far beyond the rocky outcropping about a half-mile off shore. It wasn’t really an island, just a rock that had been worn mostly smooth by centuries of storms, but it was big enough that Danny could climb up and have a seat in the sun to watch as Steve swam to a larger cluster of rocks a little over a mile further out. 

Danny could have stayed with Steve for the whole three mile swim, of course. He did the full swim about once a week just to prove to himself that he could, but he preferred to just watch Steve swim until Steve got back to him, when he would join Steve in the water again for the swim back to shore. Danny was still no match for Steve’s speed and skill in the water, but he could swim much better now than he could in the early days they knew each other, when Danny had still refused to set foot in the water at all.

Steve closed the lid on the toilet and moved to the counter to put his trunks on quickly, not at all surprised when he heard their bedroom door open as Danny left the room. Danny would turn on the coffee pot and start it brewing before they went out, and by the time they got back they would have fresh hot coffee waiting for them. They sometimes bought Kona coffee, but more often they would pick up a local blend that they both liked from a place in Kailua called Cinnamon’s. Cinnamon’s coffee was the best in the world, at least according to Danny, and Steve couldn’t really argue. He had taken Danny there for a cup of coffee the first time because Cinnamon’s coffee was the best he had ever tasted.

Steve grabbed Danny’s knee brace and a towel as he left the bathroom, pausing in the hall a moment to listen intently and then smiling. The low rumble of Burt’s snoring was still going strong, and he could just barely hear the music Kurt had finally turned on sometime before Steve got back with his sleeping pills the night before. He had only been able to find single-dose packages of Unisom at the closest all-night convenience store, but he thought that was for the best right now anyway, at least until he was more certain of Kurt’s state of mind. 

Kurt seemed to be doing as well as could be expected from what Steve had seen, and he was obviously already starting to relax a little around Steve and Danny, but Steve would rather not have the temptation of a large number of sleeping pills in Kurt’s possession just yet anyway. He had bought enough of the Unisom for a week, but he hadn’t told Kurt that, instead giving him just enough for two doses and telling him to ask when needed more. He wanted to be able to keep track of how many sleeping pills Kurt was taking, and that was the only way he felt like he could do so without having to ask Kurt questions that were sure to seem intrusive coming from someone he barely knew.

Steve stood there listening to Kurt’s music playing quietly a little longer, alert for any hint that Kurt might be awake again, but after a few minutes he smiled and turned away, heading downstairs as he wondered who sang the song that Kurt was listening to on repeat. Steve liked it even though he had never heard the song before, and as he padded down the stairs towards the kitchen he made a mental note of the chorus so he would remember to find the song later when he had a chance to look it up.

‘ _I'm walking away, from the troubles in my life. I'm walking away, oh, to find a better day_.’

~*~

Danny pulled up at the end of Rachel’s driveway, grinning when he saw that Grace was waiting just inside the open gate with Rachel, who looked surprised when she saw Danny. 

Danny put the car in park and then waved cheerfully to Rachel, calling, “Morning, Rach!”

Rachel waved back, still looking surprised as Grace ran to the Camaro’s passenger door. “Good morning, Daniel. You look … relaxed.”

Danny grinned even wider, glancing down at his old Bon Jovi t-shirt and then looking back at Rachel as he absently ran one hand over his still-damp hair. “We’re just having a barbecue on the beach today, nothing fancy.”

Grace opened the passenger door then and Danny looked over to watch his daughter put her backpack in the floorboard and then climb into the car as she beamed at him. “Morning, Danno! Did you and Super Steve enjoy your swim this morning? It’s a beautiful day to be on the beach!”

“We did, Monkey, and it sure is,” Danny agreed, grinning even wider as Grace carefully closed her door and then launched herself across the console between the seats to hug him. He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek, then let go as added, “Buckle up so we can go, okay?”

Grace nodded happily and then settled back into her seat as Danny looked towards Rachel again. She was still watching him, looking kind of surprised and maybe a little wistful, and Danny called, “You and Stan are welcome to join us today if you want. It’ll just be family.”

Rachel blinked and then just stared at him a moment before she said, “I… wish that we could, Daniel, but we have a prior commitment today. Perhaps you and Steve could come over to dinner one night soon? With your nephew too, of course.”

“Suit yourself,” Danny agreed easily, pretending he believed her. “Let me know when you have in mind so we can try to be free that night.”

Danny was having too good of a morning to let Rachel’s habit of avoiding his family bother him. She liked Steve well enough, better than she liked Danny some days, but she was still kind of distant with Kono and Chin no matter how hard they tried to put her at ease, and she usually wouldn’t even stay in the same room with Mary. They had only actually spoken to each other a few times as far as Danny knew, but Mary had left Rachel in tears at least once and now Rachel avoided her completely. Danny had asked Mary about it, but all Mary would say was that some people didn’t really want to hear the truth when they asked a question. 

“Of course,” Rachel agreed, giving him a slight smile. “Have fun today.”

“We will,” Danny promised. “We're gonna be grilling and spending a day on our beach with family. What’s not to love?”

“Be good, Grace,” Rachel called a little louder, seeming to ignore what Danny had said.

“I will, Mommy!” Grace called back, leaning to look at Rachel. “See you tonight!” She settled into her seat again, looking at Danny. “Mommy and Step-Stan are going to pick me up on their way home.”

“We might be a bit late,” Rachel added, making Danny look at her again. “We're going to a luau with one of Stan's clients and I'm not exactly sure when it will end. I hope that’s alright.”

“Of course!” Danny said, surprised. “Like I’m gonna complain about an extra hour or two with my favorite girl!”

Grace giggled at that. “I’m your only girl, Danno.”

Danny glanced at Grace, grinning. “You’re my favorite of _all_ the girls, Monkey, not just my favorite girl that belongs to me.”

Grace beamed happily. “I love you too.”

“Lucky me,” Danny said, leaning to kiss Grace’s cheek with a loud exaggerated ‘mwah!’ that made her giggle happily as he turned his attention back to Rachel. “Just call when you get to Kailua, we’ll make sure she’s ready to go.”

“I will, thank you. I’ll see you both then,” Rachel replied and then she turned away to walk quickly back towards the house as the gates started to swing closed behind her.

Danny looked at Grace, still grinning. “We’ve got to go by the store on the way home, Monkey. We need to pick up a few things that Steve and I forgot to get when we did the shopping for today.”

“Okay,” Grace agreed easily. “Did cousin Kurt and Uncle Burt get here last night like they were supposed to?”

“Yeah, they did. They’re at home sleeping off the plane trip right now.” Danny reached over to make sure her seat belt was secure and then looked at the road as he put the Camaro in drive to start back towards the Pali Highway. He glanced at Grace as he drove, smiling when he saw how interested and concerned she looked. “Kurt’s still hurting and pretty nervous with new people, but I think he’ll be okay after he’s been with us a while. We just have to make sure we don’t crowd him too much until he’s ready for it.”

“Because that bully hurt him so bad,” Grace added, nodding and looking at Danny seriously. “I bet he’s really scared. I know I would be if I got hurt bad and then had to leave Mommy and all my friends.” She smiled suddenly. “I won’t ever have to live without _you_ , though. You and Super Steve would just follow me no matter where I had to go.”

“We sure would,” Danny agreed firmly, then hesitated slightly before he admitted, “and sometimes Kurt _does_ get scared still, but he’s trying really hard and he’s getting better.” 

He was glad that Grace had paid attention to their talk about Kurt and why he had to come live with them, even though he wished he didn’t have to tell her about the assholes like Karofsky in this world. He knew that being prepared for Kurt’s fragile condition was the only way Grace would be able to avoid making things worse for him though, and the whole family had agreed at Sunday dinner the previous week that they would do anything they had to do to help Kurt. Well, everyone but Rachel. Danny had to talk to her about it on the phone the next day because she still wouldn’t come to Sunday dinner with the rest of the _'ohana_. 

Grace didn't say anything immediately, so Danny added, “Kurt is doing better than I thought he would be, but he still needs us to be careful with him right now. He’s a strong kid and he’s not going to let this slow him down for long, but we have to give him time to realize no one here will hurt him like the mean people in Ohio did.”

“Do you know how bad he got hurt yet?” Grace asked, curious. 

Danny hadn’t been sure about Kurt’s state of mind yet when he told Grace about Kurt’s situation, but he had made sure she knew that Kurt was hurt and scared and needed somewhere safe to live with people who could protect him. He had even sent David Karofsky’s photo to Grace’s cell phone after he hunted it down, and she knew that if she ever even _thought_ she saw him she was supposed to send a picture to Danny or Steve immediately, no matter where she was. It made Grace feel like she was helping to protect her cousin, and had the added benefit of making sure Grace would never go near the guy if Karofsky somehow showed up in Kailua looking for Kurt.

“He’s got a broken arm and collarbone,” Danny started, looking at Grace as he moved one hand to trace along his own collarbone. “That’s the bone right across here, Monkey.” Grace rolled her eyes and nodded, looking so amused and tolerant that Danny had to grin as he looked back at the road, though the grin faded quickly as he thought again about Kurt's injuries. “His shoulder was dislocated too, and he has busted ribs and one leg is hurt, but the doc in Ohio told his dad that he’ll be fine in couple months. He’s just going to hurt a lot of the time for a while.”

“Broken bones are no fun,” Grace said, and when Danny glanced at her he saw she looked solemn again. “Lisa’s brother broke his leg when he fell off his dirt bike last year, and he was mean for _weeks_ before it stopped hurting him so much and he was nice again.”

“Kurt’s not acting like that,” Danny said quickly, giving Grace a reassuring smile. “He’s a sweet kid and he won’t be mean to you, I promise. He just doesn’t like people getting too close to him right now because it hurts when they touch him. He’s got bruises all over and even hugs hurt a lot.” Danny thought that would explain Kurt shying away from being touched and he hoped she would let it drop at that, even though he suspected there was a lot more to Kurt's sudden aversion to being touched. “We all need to make sure we don’t touch him unless we ask first, okay?”

“I promise,” Grace agreed, making Danny relax again in relief. “I’ll wait until he’s better. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” Danny said, reaching over to ruffle Grace’s pigtails with a grin. “Soon I hope we’ll both be able to give him lots of hugs, but for now we need to let him have some space.” He changed the subject then, asking, “Did you and your mom have breakfast together today?”

“Mommy ate, but I didn’t,” Grace said cheerfully. “I told her that Super Steve is making waffles today because they’re my favorite and that I wanted to save room so I could eat lots of them with you and Uncle Burt and cousin Kurt.”

Danny grinned. “I bet she didn’t like that.”

“She wanted to have Rosa make waffles for me,” Grace agreed with a giggle. “I told her that Super Steve’s waffles are better and then she changed the subject.”

Danny snickered. “That’s my girl.”

Grace just beamed happily at him.

~*~

Kurt woke slowly, blinking in the bright sunlight coming in through the sheer white curtains on his open window as he listened to the song that still played on repeat on his new computer, wondering what woke him up. He felt surprisingly rested and almost comfortable even with his broken arm strapped to his chest, and he just laid there as he listened to ‘ _Walking Away_ ’, the song Puck had sent to him just before Steve got back with Kurt’s Unisom. 

Puck had suggested the song because he said he thought the lyrics fit really well with Kurt being so far away from home, and after listening to it Kurt had liked it so much he left it on repeat all night. He especially liked the second verse, and as he laid there listening to it he smiled, humming along to the lyrics he had already memorized. 

“ _Sometimes you feel there is no fun, that's why you turn and run, but now I truly realize, some people don't wanna compromise. Well, I saw them with my own eyes spreading those lies, and well I don't wanna live my life, too many sleepless nights, not mentioning the fights, I'm sorry to say lady, I'm walking away from the troubles in my life, I'm walking away, oh, to find a better day.”_

Kurt loved the song and intended to tell Puck as much when he talked to him later in the day. Puck had to go to Temple just after Steve brought Kurt the Unisom the previous night, and then Puck was going to run errands with his Nana that would take up most of the day, but he planned to let Kurt know when he was done. There would be a lot of people around that day, but Kurt didn’t think anyone would mind him texting with Puck. Steve had encouraged Kurt to talk to Puck any time he wanted to, and even told him that he was welcome to use the house phone in the kitchen to call if he wanted to.

A door closed downstairs suddenly, followed by a little girl’s happy squeal of, “Super Steve!” There was a short pause and then the girl that he was sure had to be Danny’s daughter Grace giggled and exclaimed, “ _Makua_! Put me down!” 

Kurt heard the girl start shrieking with laughter a moment later as Burt and Danny began laughing too, and he smiled. 

It was a nice sound to wake up to, and a welcome change from what he had left behind in Ohio. Kurt’s own home had been painfully solemn over the last week with hardly anyone even smiling, much less laughing with so much audible happiness. Everyone had been so careful and quiet because of Kurt that it had made him feel terrible, knowing that he and his problems were what was making his whole family unhappy. He had tried telling them to stop treating him like he was made of glass, tried to get them to just go about their lives, but they had refused to listen to him, mostly, he was sure, because even a complete stranger could tell that he was scared witless pretty much all of the time. Karofsky’s stalking had gotten so bad Kurt was afraid to even go near a window, and Kurt had spent every waking moment afraid that Karofsky would be back to carry out his threats even though Kurt hadn’t let his dad prosecute.

The laughter downstairs quieted and Kurt just laid there in his comfortable new bed, listening to the song for a little while before it dawned on him that he _wasn’t_ scared at the moment. He felt warm and relaxed and very safe in the knowledge that Karofsky was not only thousands of miles away, but was also battered and bruised and likely at least a little cowed by what Puck, Sam, and Mike had done to him. For the first time in months, Karofsky quite simply couldn’t get to Kurt anymore, and even if he did somehow manage to get to Hawai'i there were two armed men within earshot who would surely make Karofsky regret it if he so much as set foot on their island. Danny was short, sure, but he was strong and tough, and Steve was a Navy SEAL who had admitted the night before that he spent most of his time in uniform hunting terrorists all over the world. Kurt had no doubt that either of them could handle Karofsky easily, if they didn’t just shoot him on sight as Steve had hinted was his plan the night before.

Kurt noticed finally that he needed to use the bathroom, which meant he needed to gather his things and find some clothes for the day so he could get dressed while he was in there where he would have a mirror. He carefully rolled to his left to sit up and climb out of bed, but he had to stay on the edge of the bed a little while and just breathe because it had hurt so much to roll over and sit up. His right shoulder was killing him again, or maybe still since he didn't actually remember it _not_ hurting since he ran out of hydrocodone, but his ribs weren’t much better and the deep bruising to the muscles in his thigh had seized up as it always did if he was still for very long. At that particular moment it felt like he had been beaten all over again, and he wished that the doctor had given him more of the pain pills than he did. Teenagers were considered to be a high risk for addiction, so Kurt had been given enough to last only three days before he was supposed to switch to over-the-counter pain medications.

It took a few minutes of Kurt holding very still for the pain to start to recede, but when it finally seemed to have improved a little he forced himself to stand up despite the pain and limp over to the suitcases piled near his still-empty closet. He bent carefully to get the smallest bag and lift it up onto the chest of drawers, flinching at the way his ribs and shoulder protested the movement but not letting it stop him again as he unzipped the bag to take out the things he usually used for his daily skin care regime. He had been letting the pain limit his movements for long enough. It would hurt either way, so he might as well just do what he needed to and be done with it.

Looking at the collection of bottles after he had removed them all from the bag, it only took Kurt a moment to realize that with just one usable arm it was going to be impossible to carry the ones he needed to the bathroom across the hall and still be able to open the door to his room or the one to the bathroom. Even if he did get them in there, he had noticed the night before that the counter in there was so small there was hardly any room to put anything down while he worked. He could have carried them in his bag, but there was nowhere to put the bag in the bathroom if he did. The bathroom was tiny, the smallest one Kurt had ever seen, in fact, and there simply wasn’t anywhere in there to put his things, even temporarily. 

Kurt let his head hang forward, just leaning against the chest of drawers and hating that something so insignificant could make him feel so powerless. He left himself have a moment to miss the well-lit dressing table in his rather large bathroom at home, and then he finally sighed and resigned himself to using the facilities and then returning to his room to try and go through an abbreviated version of his morning routine with just the small round hand mirror he had brought with him. He grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, tucking them and a plastic-wrapped bar of goat’s milk soap into the pocket of the loose flannel pants he had slept in, and then he removed his robe from one of the larger suitcases and flipped it over his shoulder before he headed for the door. He looked towards the stairs as he stepped out of his room, listening to Grace giggling at something downstairs, and then he walked silently across the hall to the bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind him. 

The bathroom had been decorated all in shades of blue with indigo tiles on the floor that continued up the walls to stop at about waist high, topped by a pale blue wall with a wallpaper border of waves around the white ceiling. The golden oak commode seat had a pale blue fuzzy cover on the lid and the back of the tank that matched the rug in the floor and the shower curtain that featured two leaping dolphins in a swirl of ocean spray. A basket of hair clips and scrunchy ponytail bands were on the small counter next to a beautifully carved wooden hairbrush and comb set that looked like two dolphins, leaving very little room to put anything else. There were shelves over the back of the commode that held pale blue towels and wash rags on the lowest shelf, with the next shelf devoted to bottles of the sort of things a little girl would need like sunblock and sunscreen, bubble bath in several fragrances, and even a bottle of detangling spray and two different kinds of botanical bug sprays. 

There was a tube of Crest toothpaste and several toothbrushes in a holder attached to the wall by the mirror over the sink, each toothbrush very different from the others, and Kurt laid his own toothbrush and toothpaste on the tiny counter as he wondered just how many children usually stayed with Danny and Steve. He was sure that the dolphin toothbrush had to belong to Grace, mostly because it matched the décor of the bedroom next to his that he had looked into the night before on his way to his room, but there was also a blue toothbrush with a motorcycle on the handle, a black one with flames on it, and a red one that had a bright yellow surf board along the handle.

Kurt hung his robe on a hook on the inside of the door and then used the restroom before he moved back to the sink to wash his hand, looking at himself in the mirror and then sighing. He looked better than he had when he woke up the day before, but that wasn’t saying much. The bruises on his face were an ugly mottled greenish purple that was finally beginning to fade to yellow around the edges, and his nose and cheekbone were still a little swollen. His eyes weren’t as bloodshot that morning though, thanks to Steve’s thoughtfulness, and he actually _felt_ better after almost eight hours of sleep, even though it wasn’t obvious in the mirror. He didn’t feel terrified like he had for the last week either, finally able to relax and feel safe in the knowledge that Karofsky was half the world away, which made the whole world seem like a better place than it had just the day before.

He sighed and wished for a shower as he began to unbutton his sleep shirt, but there was really no way he could take one, not with his arm strapped to his chest in a cast that he wasn’t allowed to get wet. He couldn’t remove the strapping himself and the doctor at the hospital had said he shouldn’t take it off anyway, so he hadn’t showered since the attack. He had been doing the best he could to stay clean with a washrag, but he was used to taking a long hot shower every morning and the feeling of not being truly clean was starting to really bother him. The worst of it was under the straps that were wrapped so snugly around him, where his back itched so bad it reminded him of when he got the chicken pox when he was six. 

There was nothing Kurt could do about the way he itched, though, and when he finally managed to get his shirt off, he dropped it in the floor by his feet as he tried hard to put out of his mind the shower he so desperately wanted. He reached for his toothpaste to open it awkwardly and begin what he _could_ do of his morning routine, trying hard not to get frustrated with himself about how clumsy he was doing everything left-handed. He couldn’t really get clean, but he could brush his teeth and then he could at least strip and wipe down everything he could reach with a washrag, which was better than nothing at all.

Kurt was wearing his fluffy bathrobe with his soap, toothbrush, and toothpaste in the pocket and his sleep shirt and sweats draped over his good arm when he opened the bathroom door again about fifteen minutes later, but he stopped in surprise when he stepped out into the hall. 

Danny was leaning against the wall by Kurt’s slightly open bedroom door, smiling and looking very fit and relaxed in snug old jeans and a Bon Jovi t-shirt that made him look very like the Uncle Danny that Kurt remembered from his childhood, except for the fact Kurt was actually taller than Danny now. Kurt had surprisingly fond memories of days and sometimes even weeks spent in Danny’s tiny apartment while his mother was in and out of the hospital, always with Danny or his little sister Michelle, who lived in a nearby dorm at the college. Michelle had been a freshman the year Kurt’s mom died, and she had always made time to stay with Kurt while Danny worked the night shift at a local mall as a security guard.

“Morning, kiddo,” Danny said easily, distracting Kurt from his memories and giving Kurt a warm smile that made Danny’s blue eyes sparkle. “Steve heard you moving around up here so I decided to come see if you need any help. We’re having his famous waffles for breakfast in a little while, but he’ll make anything you’d like to have if waffles aren’t your speed today. He’s a great cook, much better than I am.”

Kurt just stared at Danny a moment, surprised by how touched he was by the offer, and then asked softly, “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s downstairs with Steve and Grace, having a cup of coffee and listening to them talk about Gracie’s week at school,” Danny replied quietly, still smiling at Kurt. “He would have come up here himself once Steve told us you were up, but I beat him to it.” He grinned suddenly, leaning towards Kurt as he stage-whispered, “And just between us, kiddo, I think you’re better off with me. I know how to get that straight-jacket off of you if you want me to, and I know where Steve hides everything.”

Kurt smiled, amused. “I’m sure you do.” He walked to his room, pausing next to Danny in the doorway as he looked at Danny again, hesitating before he asked, “Do-- Do you think I could take a shower? The doctor at the hospital said I can’t take the brace off until my next appointment, but surely it would be okay just long enough to shower. I haven’t had one in over a week, and I’d _really_ like to get clean.”

Danny grin faded into a gentle smile as he replied softly, “Of course it would be okay, kiddo. We’ve got plastic bags to protect the cast so it stays dry, and a sling to help keep that shoulder still. You want a shower now?”

“That would be heavenly,” Kurt murmured, so relieved and grateful he had to blink back the sudden stinging in his eyes. He hated that something so simple put him on the edge of crying, he felt like it was pathetic, but he couldn’t help it. The very worst part of being hurt wasn’t the pain, at least not for him. He had been in pain often before from being thrown into dumpsters and lockers or even beat up, so he was used to hurting, but the fact he couldn’t even shower after all that happened that night had left him feeling dirty in a way that he couldn’t put into words even in his own mind. 

Danny lifted his hand as if to touch Kurt’s good shoulder but stopped himself, putting his hand down again as he said gently, “I’m here to help you with _anything_ , Kurt, and so is Steve. We’ve both been hurt before and we know how rough it is doing even the simple things with only one hand, especially when it’s not your dominant hand so you have to learn to do things all over again. We both expect to help you out any time you need it, especially until your collarbone is healed up enough the doc says you can move that other arm around again. All you have to do is let us know what you need.”

Kurt took a slow shaky breath, suddenly wanting one of the hugs Danny had always been so free with when he was little. He didn’t give himself a chance to think about it too much before he asked softly, “Could I have that hug I took a rain check on last night?”

“Of course,” Danny said with a smile, lifting both hands to hold his arms open but not reaching for Kurt or crowding him in any way. “Get over here, kiddo. Like I told you last night, I got all the hugs you can stand.”

Kurt moved into Danny’s arms, shuddering when he touched Danny and feeling like he might have made a mistake until Danny’s arms wrapped around him gently. After a few moments Kurt’s heart stopped pounding so loud he couldn’t hear anything else and then he was able to take a slow shaky breath as he shifted his feet, moving a little closer to Danny. He hugged Danny tighter with his good arm, feeling safer than he had in days even though he was shaking like a leaf as he whispered, “I’m sorry I’m such a mess, Uncle Danny.”

Danny rubbed one hand soothingly over Kurt’s back, holding him close with the other arm as he murmured, “Shh, kiddo, don’t apologize. Just relax, I’ve got you.”

“Okay.” Kurt closed his eyes and curled even closer to Danny, putting his cheek on Danny’s shoulder and just holding on to him as he tried to ignore the tears he could feel sliding hot and wet down his cheeks, hating that he was trembling and crying even though it felt really good to be held. 

Danny’s hugs were just like Kurt remembered, making him feel warm and loved even though he was shaking like a leaf in a high wind, but after a few minutes that seemed like hours the trembling when he was touched that Kurt hadn’t been able to control since the attack finally began to fade away in the face of how safe Danny made him feel. Burt would have already pulled away from the hug, upset that hugging Kurt had made him shake and cry, and every time it happened it had hurt Kurt a little more deeply than the last time. Burt loved Kurt more than anything in the world, Kurt knew that as well as he knew his own name, but it had still devastated him to realize that for the first time in his life his dad couldn’t fix his problems or even really _help_ with them. 

The worst part was that Burt _knew_ that Kurt needed more from him, but no matter how hard Burt tried to be there for Kurt he just couldn’t let himself really hug Kurt like he used to. Burt tried to, he really did, but it was obvious that being touched upset Kurt and Burt was hesitant to get too close to him because of it, not lingering for long at all before he quickly withdrew again. The reactions Kurt couldn’t control whenever he was feeling stressed just made it all that much worse because Kurt would often find himself flinching away from even the lightest touch, which hurt Burt so much that Kurt sometimes found himself bursting into tears that would just hurt Burt even more.

“I hate this,” Kurt said suddenly, hardly aware he was speaking aloud. “I hate crying all the time and feeling so damned alone even when I _know_ I’m not, and I hate that people are afraid to get near me because I keep freaking out, and I hate that I can’t control my own reactions anymore.” He let out a little sound that wasn’t quite a sob, swallowing hard and taking a careful breath to get control of himself again before he went on. “It’s not fair that even letting _my dad_ hug me makes me act like such a hot mess. He tries _so_ _hard_ , but I can tell it’s killing him that I can’t keep from falling apart when he touches me for more than a few seconds, and hurting him like that is even worse than not getting a hug at all.”

“I know, kiddo,” Danny murmured into Kurt's hair, starting to sway slightly. 

Danny was holding Kurt close as he rubbed Kurt’s back, his touch gentle and soothing just like Kurt remembered it from when he was a boy and they both knew Lizzie was dying but there was nothing anyone could do but wait and try to be strong for her. There had been more than a few days that Danny and Kurt had both put on a brave face for Lizzie and Burt for the hour when they visited them at the hospital, only to fall apart and cry together as soon as they were alone in an elevator or back out in Danny’s old Camaro. Danny’s lack of shame about letting his emotions show, so very different from Burt’s manly stoicism, had made Kurt feel better about the fact he had cried so often back then, and remembering it made him feel a little better about his own recent emotional outbursts. 

“I know everything is hard as hell for you right now,” Danny said after a few minutes, “but we’re gonna get you through this, okay? It’s not gonna be easy, but you’re gonna beat this, I promise. Me and Steve, we’re here for you and we’ll both be glad to hold you anytime you want, whether you cry all over us or not.” He let out a little amused huff, adding, “Hell, you and me have cried on each other more than a few times, kid, and Steve and I have done the same a few times, so we’re not gonna melt or panic if you get us wet. Steve’s a super-SEAL and tougher than he needs to be about a lot of things that make me want to shriek and run like a little girl, but deep down he’s really just a big softie like that old Rottie your dad had when you were tiny.”

Kurt let out a strangled little laugh, still crying even though he smiled at the mental image of Steve as a Rottweiler like Frankie, and he didn’t really register a soft noise near the stairs as Danny’s arms tightened around him a bit and Danny went on.

“You just relax and let us take care of you, and if you need a shoulder to cry on, well, we’ve got two each for you to choose from,” Danny said quietly, sounding like maybe he was smiling. “I’ve got it on good authority that me and Steve both give great hugs, and we’ll be glad to hold you whenever you need it, okay? We’ve got your back, and so does the rest of the family. You and me don’t have any blood relatives here in Hawai'i except Gracie, but we have _family_ here that will move heaven and earth to help you get past what that piece of shit did to you. We’re all gonna do whatever it takes to get you back to normal, or as normal as any Williams can be.”

Kurt just nodded and sniffled as he clung to Danny for a few more moments before he finally tried to pull away, and he was grateful for the way Danny didn’t hesitate to let him go. He wiped his eyes with his good hand, and wasn’t very surprised to see Danny was giving him an encouraging smile even though Danny’s shining eyes and damp cheeks made it obvious he had shed a few tears of his own. When Kurt was little Danny had always said that he didn’t believe in letting anyone cry alone, but Kurt knew that Danny just cared so deeply about family that seeing anyone he loved in tears was often enough to make him cry too. He gave Danny a shaky little smile as he murmured, “Thank you, Uncle Danny. I really needed that.”

Danny smiled a bit wider and lifted his right hand again, not really hesitating but still moving slowly enough to give Kurt time to pull away before he touched him. Kurt didn’t move away, feeling like he had won something when he realized he didn’t even want to, and Danny brushed back Kurt’s hair as he gave Kurt that soft smile again that made his blue eyes go warm and sparkling. “I’ve got plenty more hugs where that one came from, kiddo, and I know Steve and Gracie will be glad to hug you too if you need it. _Everyone_ you’ll see in this house today is someone you can trust, for that matter. We didn’t invite anyone but close family today, so you could meet them while Burt’s here.” He paused as he let his hand fall away and then added very gently, “There’s some stuff I think we should talk about before they all get here, though, just you and me.”

Kurt hesitated slightly and then nodded. “While you help me get out of this straightjacket so I can shower, maybe?”

“That works,” Danny agreed, smiling. “Go get your shower stuff together and then come in our bedroom, okay? Our bathroom is a lot bigger and it’ll be easier for you to maneuver that cast in our shower than it would be in the other one. We’ve got towels and everything in there already.”

Kurt nodded again, smiling back. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Danny said, still smiling, and then he turned away to head for his own bedroom.

Kurt bent to pick up the clothes he had dropped and then went into his room, leaving the door open as he moved to his chest of drawers to put his pajamas in the top drawer and then get the things he would need for a shower. He wasn’t taking many of his toiletries, mostly because he couldn’t really carry them all, so it was only a few moments before he was walking down the hall and into Danny’s room, pausing to look around just inside the door. 

Danny and Steve’s bedroom wasn’t really that much larger than Kurt’s was, but it seemed bigger than it really was, possibly because of the two large windows that were wide open above the head of the queen-sized bed, letting the ocean breeze in to flutter the sheer white curtains. The bed was done in dark wood with a slatted headboard that Kurt thought looked rather old-fashioned, and the bedside tables, dresser, and chest of drawers all matched it perfectly, the whole set showing signs of years of wear even though someone kept it all spotlessly clean and polished. The bed was neatly made with simple white linens and a thin pale blue quilt with tiny pink and green flowers embroidered on it that was obviously old and handmade, making Kurt wonder if it was a family heirloom. 

The only real decorations in the room were photographs, including a few of people Kurt was sure were probably Steve’s family, but the ones that interested Kurt most were the ones of Danny's side of the family. There were a few photos that had been taken back when Danny still had the mohawk that made him look like a juvenile delinquent including one Danny and Lizzie with their parents and their siblings, another of Danny holding Kurt as a baby, and one of Danny with Kurt when Kurt was about five, but many of the photos were much more recent. There was one of Danny looking blindingly happy with Grace on his shoulders and a beautiful blue sky behind them, and another of Grace and Danny swimming with a dolphin, and several of Grace in sports uniforms or in a ballet singlet, but about half of the pictures of Grace also had Danny and Steve in the picture with her. In every photo of the three of them together they looked happy, but one photo had an obvious place of honor and made Kurt smile. Grace was holding Steve’s hand and beaming while she watched Danny and Steve smile at each other, and the two men were obviously so happy and so deeply in love that everyone else had ceased to exist for them for a moment.

There were two doors on opposite sides of the room, one open and one closed, and a moment later Danny stepped out of the open door to Kurt’s left, smiling when Kurt turned quickly to look at him. “I had to move my knee brace to the tub. Steve made me wear it during our swim this morning, so I had to rinse the salt and sand out of it when we got back, and I hung it in the shower to let it dry.”

Kurt blinked, surprised even though he had noticed Danny limping a few times the night before. “Knee brace? Did you tear your ACL again?” 

Kurt just barely remembered when Danny had torn his ACL in college, abruptly ending his baseball career and making Danny have to work a lot harder to be able to stay in school. Danny had finally been forced to take out student loans, but he had tried hard not to borrow any more than he had to because he didn’t want the debt hanging over his head after school. Even then he had planned to be a detective, and everyone knew that cops weren’t paid very well, especially when they were rookies, so Danny had worked long hours when he wasn’t in school. 

Danny had finished college just before Kurt’s mom went into the hospital for the last time, and after Lizzie died Grandma Connie had begged Danny and his little sister Michelle to move back home so she could have her children close to her. Danny had gone into the police academy right after he returned to Jersey, and then he was too busy with his job as a cop to travel so Kurt hadn’t really gotten to see him anymore, even though they had talked frequently on the phone until Kurt got too busy with his own life to bother calling Danny so often anymore. Speaking once a week had slowly evolved into speaking only on holidays, and then Kurt had forgotten to call at all. Danny had tried to keep in touch, but he finally gave up not long before he got divorced.

“Yeah, almost two years ago now,” Danny agreed, drawing Kurt's attention back away from his thoughts to see Danny looked surprisingly amused. “Twisted it one morning when I was in a hurry, and I was in my car before I realized it was blowing up like a balloon. Instead of going to work I ended up going to the doc to find out I blew it almost as bad as the first time, but I don’t want surgery again so the only thing he could really do was give me some pills and tell me to stay off it.” He snorted, grinning. “I can’t really do that and keep Steve out of trouble too, so it’s been giving me hell off and on ever since. I wrenched it a little a few days ago so Steve’s being all momma hen about it, but it’s not really that bad today. I didn’t need the brace just to go for a swim, but I wore it anyway to humor him.”

Kurt smiled slightly, amused as he said skeptically, “ _You_ keep _Steve_ out of trouble?”

Danny laughed. “Hey now, I’m not nearly as wild as I used to be back when my biggest worry was whether or not I could afford gas, pizza, _and_ donuts this week or not. I am a bona-fide _grownup_ now, a detective that is second in command of an elite state-level law enforcement agency run by the man I personally heard an _admiral_ introduce to one of his friends as the best and brightest the entire US Navy has to offer. I live in a house with a two car garage and a private beach, and I own a hot car that can top one-forty on a good straight road and actually proves it about once a month because Steve is determined to make her fly. I have a kid that is smart and funny and thinks I’m awesome, and a partner that drives me crazy when he’s not being so damned adorable I have to wonder how he managed to get through being trained to kill a man with a _toothpick_ and still be such a giant goof.”

“I’ll believe you’re a grownup when I see proof,” Kurt said teasingly, smiling wider at how happy Danny obviously was. “I still remember the uncle that used to take me to the skate park in Columbus and then make all the teenagers look bad while I cheered him on from the rail, even if you don’t. Mom used to say you were twenty-two going on ten.” 

Danny grinned widely. “I remember that kid too, now that you mention it. He was pretty cool for a Jersey boy.” Kurt giggled softly at that and Danny moved to one side of the bathroom doorway, still grinning as he gestured towards the door with one hand. “C’mon, kiddo. Let’s get this show on the road, or breakfast will be stone cold by the time you’re done.”

Kurt nodded and moved past Danny into the bathroom, surprised by how large it was. The floors and lower walls were the same indigo tile as the other bathroom, but the upper walls were painted a sunny shade of yellow that brightened the room. There was a toilet in the corner to the right of the door with a window above it that looked out over the ocean, and to the left of that was a large tiled shower enclosed in glass took up the rest of that end of the room. A sink was against the wall opposite the door with another window above it looking out over the roof of the first floor towards the ocean and a neighbor’s home farther down the beach, and a bottle of hair gel, a pale green soap dispenser, and a matching glass were all lined up neatly beside the sink. A wide vanity with a large mirror and a dressing stool was off to the left of the sink, the top of the vanity completely empty except for a short stack of towels and washcloths and a pale green bowl of seashells similar to those in the wallpaper border around the ceiling of the room. The end of the room to the left of the vanity was completely filled by the linen cabinet and a large claw-footed tub that looked like an antique to Kurt.

“You’re welcome to use our bathroom anytime you like,” Danny said quietly, making Kurt look at him in surprise. Danny was smiling and looking pleased with himself as he added, “Finn sent us pictures of your room back in Ohio so we could try and get you things you’d enjoy for your room here, and we saw your bathroom.” He gestured towards the vanity, smiling a little wider. “Me and Steve don’t use that, so you’re welcome to keep your stuff there and consider it yours. We’re always up with the sun and start the day by going for a long swim or run if we're not taking off on some case, so we’ll probably be out of the house when you need to get ready for the day anyway.”

“Thank you,” Kurt murmured, pleased and feeling touched. “It will be much easier to do my usual routine in here where I can shower, too.”

Danny grinned. “And Gracie won’t be tempted to play with any of your stuff, which can’t hurt.” Kurt laughed slightly, nodding, and Danny added, “If you want me to get the rest of your bathroom stuff for you, I can. I don’t mind, and I know it’s hard to carry much with one arm. I noticed you’ve got a lot of bottles on your dresser.”

Kurt smiled and nodded, relieved. “Could you please? It would be so much easier for me to keep it all where I’ll have water and a mirror so I don’t have to carry it back and forth.”

“No problem,” Danny said quickly. “I’ll go get it all now. Just the stuff on the dresser?”

“Yes, please,” Kurt agreed, smiling and feeling relieved.

“I won’t be long,” Danny said, smiling as he headed for the hall. “While I get your stuff, why don’t you have a seat and relax a minute, and then I can help you with that straightjacket you’re wearing.”

Kurt nodded. “Okay.”

Danny didn’t say anything else, instead disappearing out into the hall. 

Kurt moved to the dressing table, putting down his shower things and then pulling out the small wheeled stool to sit down, careful to avoid looking at the mirror as he instead looked around the bathroom, feeling as safe as he had in a long time.

~*~

Steve was sprawled on the couch with Grace curled up against his side under one arm when Burt walked quietly back down the stairs. He glanced away from the television to look at Burt, surprised he was back so quickly, and then frowned when he saw the lost, hurt expression on Burt’s face. 

Burt seemed not to even notice Steve and Grace were in the living room, walking past them and then continuing straight to the back door to walk out on the _lanai_.

“Why is Uncle Burt so upset?” Grace whispered, making Steve look back down at her. 

Grace was obviously concerned and looked a little confused, and Steve quickly gave her a gentle squeeze as he murmured, “I’m not sure, Gracie. You think I should go find out?”

Grace nodded. “He looked like he needs a hug really bad.”

“He did, didn’t he?” Steve agreed. “You think you’ll be okay on your own?”

Grace pulled away from his side, looking tolerant and suddenly amused. “I can watch the Smurfs without help, Super Steve.”

Steve let out a little huff of a laugh and tapped her on the end of the nose. “Yeah, you’re _so_ your daddy’s little girl.”

Grace beamed. “Thank you.” She gave him a little push with one hand. “Now go away.”

Steve grinned at her and got up off the couch as he said, “As you wish.”

Grace giggled happily and beamed, shifting to curl up against the arm of the couch as she went back to watching the cartoon, where Azrael was playing with the Smurfs because the cat had amnesia and had forgotten he hated them. 

Steve headed for the _lanai_ , his amusement fading as he looked out and saw that Burt was sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs out on the beach, his head cradled in his hands. Steve walked outside and then across the yard and down the sand to the chairs, wondering what could have happened in the few minutes that Burt was upstairs, especially since he was pretty sure Burt hadn’t gotten any further than the top of the stairs.

Burt obviously didn’t hear him approach until Steve was right next to the chair he was sitting in, and when he did finally notice Steve he didn’t look up or move. “Why doesn’t my son want me to hug him?” he asked in a ragged voice. “What did I do wrong?”

Steve sat down in the other chair, reaching over to put one hand on Burt’s back and rub slowly as he murmured, “It’s not you, Burt, it’s everyone.”

Burt lifted his head then, letting Steve see his bleak expression and the pain in his eyes. “But it’s not. He let Danny.” Steve blinked in surprise as his hand went still on Burt’s shoulder, but Burt didn’t seem to notice. “Kurt can hardly stand for me to even _touch_ him, but he’s up there right now letting Danny hold him while he cries and it’s _killing_ _me_ that I don’t know what the hell I did wrong to make it so he can’t trust _me_ like that anymore. He’s needed someone to hold him for a goddamned _week_ and could barely stand for me to touch him, but here after just _one night_ he’s already lettin’ Danny be there for him while he cries.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Steve said. “I know Kurt still trusts you, it’s _obvious_ when he’s around you.” He paused and then added more quietly, “And if I had to guess, I’d think maybe he can cry on Danny’s shoulder now because of all they went through together when Lizzie died.”

Burt blinked, looking surprised and then confused. “What do you mean?”

Steve stared at Burt in surprise for a moment and then asked very slowly, “You _did_ know that they used to cry together after they saw her, didn’t you? They didn’t have anyone but each other to turn to most of the time back then. You were always with Lizzie, and they both refused to let her see how they were hurting.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Burt said, frowning as he moved away from Steve's hand on his shoulder to sit up straighter. “How do _you_?”

“Danny told me,” Steve replied as he let his hand fall, wondering if Burt was actually annoyed or just upset he hadn’t known about something so important to his son. “He was sure that you knew about it and you were bringing Kurt to us now because you knew how close they were then and you thought Danny could help him through this like he helped him through losing his mom.”

“I—No. I knew they got along and that Danny loves the kid, but they haven’t even _talked_ in two years,” Burt said quietly, still frowning. “I just wanted to get Kurt far away from that bastard that hurt him, and Hawai'i is just about as far from Ohio as I could think of.” Burt shifted in his chair, looking down and then back at Steve again. “Danny _cried_ with him?”

“They knew they were losing Lizzie,” Steve said gently. He wondered how Burt could have missed how upset Danny and Kurt both were by Lizzie’s slow, lingering death for only a moment before he suddenly understood. _Burt_ had been dying inside with Lizzie then, just like Steve would die by inches if something similar happened to Danny, and nothing had been able to compete with Burt’s pain and his need to help Lizzie in any way he possibly could. “They both knew there was nothing they could do for her but try to keep her spirits up. Danny told me that sometimes they didn’t even make it out to his car before they fell apart, but they didn’t want you or Lizzie to see how badly it was hurting them to see her slipping away.”

“I had no idea,” Burt murmured, looking pained as he turned his attention out to the water. “I always kind of thought Kurt didn’t understand what was happening until the very end. He was always all smiles for her, singing her some song or telling her a funny story about something he and Danny had done together to make her laugh. Danny too. They were the brightest part of her day, most of the time. She didn’t smile at all near the end except for when they visited.”

“They knew that,” Steve said quietly, wishing he knew what to do to help Burt deal with everything he had on his plate at the moment. He was very sure Burt needed a hug pretty damned bad at the moment himself, but he was just as sure that Burt wouldn’t accept it from him so he ruthlessly quashed the impulse. “Kurt _always_ knew what was happening, though, I know that much. He was the one who told _Danny_ that the kind of cancer Lizzie had was always fatal. Kurt looked it up on the computer at your office one day because he wanted to know what was happening to his mom.”

Burt was still and quiet for a few minutes and then finally looked at Steve. “And you think that’s why Kurt can barely stand to hug me, but is up there crying on Danny’s shoulder?”

Steve looked into Burt’s eyes a moment, searching for the right words. “I think Kurt probably doesn’t hug you because he can’t control how he reacts to it.” He paused and then added gently, “When you do touch him, I’ve noticed how hurt you are if he flinches, but if he feels anything like I did, he can’t _help_ reacting like that right now.” He hesitated again, debating whether to say more for a moment before he went on. “Even now, _years_ after the worst of what I went through, if I have a particularly bad nightmare I still wake up cringing away from Danny, but he never takes it personally and he refuses to let me go through it alone. He makes sure I’m really awake and then he holds me and reminds me that I’m safe at home with him until I believe it again.”

Burt looked surprised and then pained. “When Kurt pulls away, I’ve been backing off and trying not to get too close.”

Steve nodded. “Danny would expect the fear and the flinching, and wouldn’t let it bother him if Kurt said he needed held.” He paused and then added very quietly, “He’s dealt with victims of abuse in the past and he knows that they—“ Steve broke off, taking a careful, deep breath. Talking about what had happened to him was easier than it used to be, but sometimes he still had to remind himself that admitting he had been a victim didn't make him weak. “That _we_ can’t control our reactions to some things afterwards, sometimes even for _years_ afterwards.”

“Kurt can’t either,” Burt said quietly. “He told me that the other day, crying and apologizing because he panicked when I touched him.” He swallowed hard. “He had his earphones on and I didn’t notice, so he didn’t know I was behind him in the kitchen talking to him until I put my hand on his shoulder.” He looked away. “He screamed and dropped the bowl of fruit he was holding, and was already hiding in his room before I could blink.”

Steve nodded again, wishing not for the first time that he could get away with a quick trip to Ohio to put Karofsky in the ground. He had been all over the world killing people for the government and he was an expert in quick kills and hiding a body where no one would ever find it, but Danny had made him promise he wouldn’t go after Karofsky unless the guy showed up in Hawai'i. “That’s not unusual, Burt. He’s not scared of _you_ , he’s just plain _scared_.” He paused and then added, “And from what Finn told me, Kurt had seen Karofsky lurking around your house several times too, so being touched unexpectedly was _sure_ to make him panic. He’s terrified of that bastard, you told us that yourself.”

“He is,” Burt agreed, looking at Steve again. “It still hurts, though, seeing him let Danny hold him while he cries. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he got Kurt to _laugh_ even though he was still crying. I’ve only heard him laugh _once_ since it happened.”

“I know it’s got to be hard seeing him like this, Burt,” Steve murmured, thinking it was probably for the best that Burt didn’t know Kurt had been laughing at that Puck kid the night before. Burt didn't seem to have the best opinion of the guy. “I wish Danny and I could fix it all for both of you, but we can’t, not overnight.” He paused and then added carefully, “You might try offering Kurt a hug, to start with. I’m sure Danny didn’t touch him at all unless Kurt asked him to.”

“I _have_ ,” Burt said, pained. “He just tells me he’s okay.”

Steve hesitated and then said quietly, “Have you considered the possibility that Kurt can’t stand to upset _you_ , and that’s why he shies away?”

Burt stared at Steve for a moment and then looked away. “He always has had a better grip on what I’m feeling than I have.”

“He loves you,” Steve pointed out, “and he doesn’t want to hurt you, I know. If his reaction to being held upsets you, then he probably _would_ try to avoid it.”

“He hates seeing me upset,” Burt agreed, watching the waves roll towards the high-tide line about twenty feet away. “The kid’s done things before that made him miserable as hell because he was trying to make me happy.” He let out a little snort. “He even went through a phase where he dressed like me and dated a _girl_ to try to be the son he thought I wanted. Made sure I caught him making out with her and tried to pretend they were going to have sex just because he thought I would be happier if he was straight.”

“I think maybe that you and Kurt should talk today or tomorrow, before you have to go back,” Steve murmured, remembering when he had done something similar trying to please his own father. He hadn’t stopped at just _pretending_ to have sex with a girl, but it hadn’t kept his dad from shipping him off to military school to 'make a man out of him'. “Tell him what you told me and find out what he’s thinking, Burt. I just met him, but I bet that if you sit him down and get him to talk to you, you’ll both feel better.”

Burt looked at Steve again. “I’ve tried that before.”

Steve smiled crookedly. “So try again.” He stood to head back towards the house, pausing to rest his hand on Burt’s arm for a moment as he added, “The SEALs have a saying that covers life outside the service too. ‘ _The only easy day was yesterday_.’”

Burt let out a little snort of a laugh but didn’t say anything as Steve walked away.

~*~

Danny wasn’t surprised Kurt’s bathroom stuff had been too much for the kid to carry with one arm, since he could barely get it all with both hands. He had to really watch it to get back down the hall and into his bathroom without dropping anything, and by the time he got there he was a little bemused by the fact Kurt used about twice as many products as even Rachel did. 

Danny had always thought Rachel spent entirely too much on trying to make her beautiful face even more perfect, even pissed her off about once a week on average by saying as much, but he was pretty sure Kurt spent about three times what Rachel did. He recognized a few of the brands Kurt used as being ones even _Rachel_ had said were too expensive, and knowing that Kurt thought he needed so many facial products truly boggled his mind, especially considering how delicately beautiful Kurt was under all the bruises. Kurt looked enough like his mother that it gave Danny a little bit of déjà vu every time Kurt smiled, making him remember Lizzie’s stunning smile. Kurt had the same shape to his face, and her eyes, and after seeing him smile a few times Danny was sure that seeing Kurt when he was truly happy was going to be like seeing a ghost.

When Danny got back to the bathroom he stopped in the doorway to wait for Kurt to notice him, pleased by the soft little smile on Kurt’s face as Kurt gazed out the window over the sink towards the neighbor’s house and the ocean beyond it. Kurt looked a hundred percent more relaxed than he had been the night before, calm and almost serene despite the lingering redness in his eyes from crying, and Danny found himself thinking that Kurt was going to be okay. The kid had a lot to get past, there was no doubt of that, and Danny was sure he would still have bad days, but he was sure finally that Kurt was still _Kurt._ A good night’s peaceful sleep had done him a world of good, and Danny was sure a few weeks of rest and a little love would do even more.

Kurt still hadn’t looked at Danny when he murmured, “It’s beautiful here. I understand why you love it.”

“It is, but that’s not why,” Danny said, amused as he moved further into the bathroom with Kurt’s collection of bottles and jars. Kurt turned his head to look at him, surprised and obviously curious, so Danny decided to try to explain. “I came out here because Rachel moved here with Grace, but I hated Hawai'i with a blinding passion long after I met Steve right out there in our garage.”

“How did that happen?” Kurt asked, smiling slightly and looking even more curious. “You meeting Steve, I mean.”

Danny smiled back at Kurt and then looked down to carefully put everything down on the vanity before he took a step away just in case Kurt wanted a little space, even though Kurt seemed completely comfortable with him nearby. Somehow, the long hug in the hall and the things he had said seemed to have helped Kurt, even though he wasn’t really sure how or why. “I had been out here about six months and was working his dad’s murder, and Steve was on leave to attend the funeral.”

“That’s awful,” Kurt murmured, his smile disappearing. “Did you ever get whoever did it?”

“We knew who did it,” Danny replied with a crooked little smile, remembering what it had been like meeting Steve, what felt like a lifetime ago. “Steve was on the phone with the guy when the bastard pulled the trigger, so he knew exactly who did it. The guy was a real evil piece of work named Hesse that Steve had been chasing for years, an international terrorist and arms dealer that had killed dozens of people Steve was sure of and likely a lot more besides. 

"Hesse had taken Steve’s dad as hostage and called to try to make Steve release his brother, who Steve had finally managed to catch just a few days earlier in Korea. Hesse had sent some people to get his brother back, and his brother and most of Steve's team got killed in the crossfire when they attacked. Hesse knew somehow, and called back to let Steve talk to his dad right up until Hesse shot him, which left Steve pretty messed up for a long time. He hadn’t talked to his dad at all in years because the old man didn't want him around, but his dad knew he was going to die so he told Steve how proud he was of him and that he loved him, and gave him a few clues about something he wanted Steve to find. Steve came out here right after the funeral, and I happened to come by to have another look around while Steve was here trying to find what his dad meant for him to see. We were both jumpy, and me and Steve were pointing our guns at each other before we ever even said hello.”

Kurt smiled slightly again. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” Danny agreed, grinning as he hopped up to sit on the counter, only a few feet away from Kurt. “He had found the stuff his dad wanted him to look into by the time I showed up, a bunch of clues to who had killed Steve’s mom all neatly stowed away in an old toolbox, so he decided to just try and walk out with it. I wouldn’t let him because I thought it was evidence in his dad’s case and ended up threatening to shoot him while I was trying to stop him, so he called the Governor and pulled rank on me. She swore him in as an officer of the law right there in the garage, over the phone, and I got to be the only witness to him taking the oath.” 

Kurt laughed softly, surprised, and Danny nodded as he went on, still grinning. “Yeah, it was crazy, and the way he got all smug and declared he was taking my case away made me kind of want to shoot him anyway, but I ended up just standing there and watching him walk out with the toolbox. Steve showed up at my apartment the next morning and informed me that I was his new partner in the Governor’s brand new task force that was going to go after the people like Hesse that regular cops couldn’t handle, and it all went downhill from there. I almost shot him more than once over the next month, and I _did_ punch him several times, but eventually things settled down and we figured out how to work together without me constantly wanting to kill him just so I wouldn’t have to deal with his particular brand of crazy anymore.” He laughed. “It’s a real good thing for both of us that he doesn’t mind me yelling at him though, ‘cause I yelled more than I talked for over a year, at least while I was around Steve. He knew nothing about being a cop then and he broke every rule in the book at least twice.”

Kurt giggled. “You did mention he makes you crazy.”

“Oh, it’s _nothing_ like it was,” Danny said, grinning wider. “He drove me so nuts I spent my days trying to decide whether I wanted to punch him or just shoot him, and the crazy bastard loved every minute of it. He’s got a thing for watching me rant and he was pissing me off on purpose just to see me lose it again.”

“How did you get from there to where you two are now?” Kurt asked, still amused.

“After-effects of adrenaline, spending every waking minute with him, and lots of Longboard beer,” Danny answered promptly, amused. “We managed to fall into bed together quite a few times before either one of us ever said a word about being interested in more. He acted like nothing had changed after we started having sex, so I thought I was just a friend he sometimes slept with until he finally told me how he really felt one night a few months later. We got to talking about where we wanted things to go, and the next day we were moving my stuff into his place and telling Gracie that we started out as just partners at work like I had always told her, but somehow it turned into more." He grinned. "She loved the idea, of course. Steve’s her favorite person ever that’s not me or her mom, and most days I'm pretty sure he outranks Rachel, too. Anyway, we redecorated a bedroom for her, or really Steve did ‘cause he snuck off and went _insane_ in there one day while I was busy doing _his_ paperwork, and we’ve been here ever since.”

Kurt looked bemused. “You two had to get drunk to talk about your feelings?”

Danny laughed. “Oh, no. We were completely _sober_ that night. I went to bed depressed because Steve’s ex girlfriend Catherine was visiting him and I hated myself for being jealous of her, and I woke up a couple hours later to Steve sitting on my bed watching me. He started talking about how he didn’t like sleeping alone, especially while I was on the other side of the island in a crappy apartment that he knew I hated, too busy being lonely and stubborn to get my ass into his bed where it belonged.” 

Kurt giggled again and murmured, “Oh my.”

Danny grinned. “Yeah. He kind of had a point, and somehow we ended up talking about our feelings and shit like a couple of girls. I don’t remember half what we said, I was so in shock that he actually felt the same way I did, but I never slept alone again after that. He took me out to dinner on my birthday a few weeks later and asked me to marry him right there in the middle of a crowded restaurant, complete with the ring and the whole down on one knee thing. There were pictures in the paper the next day, and the Governor called before we were even out of bed to congratulate us and let us know that we were just the high-profile couple she needed to push the civil unions bill through, and she was going to be the matron of honor at our wedding to celebrate.” He grinned wider. “She pushed the bill through, but we haven’t gotten around to the wedding yet. We ended up with tattoos instead. Steve went to high school with a guy that got into the tattoo business, and he does really nice work. Steve’s been talking about getting another one, but he hasn’t done it yet. He can’t decide what he wants to do for Grace, so he and his buddy are still talking about it.”

“That’s so sweet,” Kurt said softly, smiling. “It’s obvious that you’re both very happy together.”

“Can’t live without him anymore,” Danny said simply, smiling as he tilted his head a bit. “How about you, kiddo? You got a guy back home? Is that part of why you were so sad last night?”

Kurt shook his head, his smile fading a bit. “No. I’ve only had one boyfriend, and that didn’t last long before we realized we were better off as friends.” He paused and then added more softly, “He and I don’t see each other very much anymore, though, not since I transferred back to McKinley. He’s a student at the private school I attended for a while, and his parents are rich and don’t like him being around anyone in public school, especially one with a reputation like McKinley has.” His expression turned wry and a bit resigned. “We’re widely regarded as losers, and he’s very honorable about doing as his parents ask him to do.”

Danny snorted. “Snobby rich people like that piss me off. I know ’em better than I’d like to because I married one, and they make me crazy.” He paused and then asked, “What about that guy with the mohawk you were talking to last night? He doesn’t look like the private-school type.”

Kurt smiled suddenly again, practically lighting up, and Danny had to grin. “Puck is just a friend from Glee. At McKinley, I mean. I’ve known him for _years_.” He paused and then added, “Well, we weren’t _friends_ all that time, but I knew who he was. We’ve only been really talking for a few months. We kind of used to hate each other. He was a bully for a long time, and I was one of the people he used to pick on the most.”

Danny smirked, remembering when he was a freshman in high school and constantly harassing Ashley Wilkins so she would at least acknowledge he was alive. He had pulled all sorts of crap on her to try to get her attention, right up until he finally got up the guts to tell her he liked her just after they started their sophomore year. They had dated for over a year after that and probably would have lasted much longer if her dad hadn’t been transferred to Seattle, breaking them up for good. “For a friend, he seems to be pretty interested in how you’re doing. Steve told me it was him you were talking to again after midnight. That’s what, five in the morning there?”

Kurt blushed a little but he was still smiling as he said, “Puck has been really sweet to me recently, but he’s straight. He’s got a girlfriend.”

Danny snickered. “Kiddo, I hate to tell you this, but having a girlfriend doesn’t make a guy straight. Steve had a girl he spent all his free time with for _years_ , and I was married and have a kid. Steve and Cath were never anything more than friends who hooked up because it was easier than trying to date anyone else, but I was still neck deep in love with Rachel when she decided that she couldn’t take being married to a cop anymore. I hadn’t ever even _looked_ at a guy when I met Steve, but after that I didn’t really look at anyone else again.” He grinned. “I was too busy trying to keep him out of trouble.”

“Puck’s different, though,” Kurt said with a soft little laugh. “He’s had sex with practically every girl he knows, and quite a few cougars who like the hard-bodied badass thing he has going on, too. He’s _very_ straight.”

“He’s thinking about _you_ an awful lot, if all the texts he sent you last night are anything to go by,” Danny pointed out, amused by how Kurt had described Puck. “Being a slut that likes women and being straight isn’t the same thing at all.”

“He’s not a _slut_ ,” Kurt protested, frowning suddenly. “He just likes to get laid and isn’t very picky about who he’s with.”

“Are you even listening to yourself?” Danny asked, trying not to laugh at how quick Kurt was to come to Puck’s defense. “That’s like saying he’s not a duck, he just quacks and waddles and likes to play in the water.”

Kurt thought back over what he had said and then looked kind of amused and sheepish. “Alright, so maybe he _is_ kind of a slut, or he used to be before he started dating Lauren, anyway, but he’s still straight. If he had ever tried … broadening his horizons, I would have heard about it by now. He’s very honest about what he likes and has absolutely no shame about walking up to a woman he doesn’t even _know_ and asking her if she wants to hook up. He has more confidence in his … _appeal_ than anyone else I know.” His lips twitched slightly. “Rightfully so, in his case, but still.”

Danny snickered, thinking that Puck and Steve sounded a lot alike, except for the walking up to a woman he didn’t even know part. Steve didn’t really even _notice_ most women who were interested in him, and never had according to Mary and Catherine, but Steve _was_ very confident in himself and his appeal on the rare occasion he decided to make use of it. “Still doesn’t make him straight, kiddo, but I’ll let it go.” He lifted his chin towards Kurt, adding, “Am I still taking off that straightjacket so you can shower? We ought to be getting a move on, everyone’s waiting breakfast on us.”

Kurt nodded quickly. “Please? I itch all over under this thing.”

Danny slid off the counter, moving to the linen cabinet. “Get the top half of that robe off then, and I’ll get a bag for your cast so you can shower.” Kurt didn’t say anything but Danny heard him moving around behind him, so he didn’t worry about it as he opened the cabinet and bent to dig in the bins in the bottom shelf, pulling out a small trash bag, a roll of waterproof tape, and a nylon sling before he stood again and turned back towards Kurt. 

Kurt had slipped the robe off of his shoulders and was holding it closed against his stomach with his good hand, watching Danny in the mirror with only a little uncertainty. It was very obvious he had been viciously beaten and seeing the bruises scattered over Kurt’s pale skin made Danny want to take a little trip to Ohio with Steve. He knew that if he did, if he took Steve anywhere _near_ Ohio while Kurt’s injuries were still so fresh, Karofsky might quietly disappear from the world with or without his approval. Steve liked Kurt quite a bit and was already so protective of the kid that Danny was sure that even he would have trouble if he tried to convince Steve not to kill Karofsky on sight. 

Danny wouldn’t actually _try_ to stop Steve from killing Karofsky, of course, but if he did he knew he’d fail miserably just like he had when Steve had killed Hesse. Hesse escaped prison a few months back and had taken Danny and Grace hostage, trying to force Steve to help him get off the island. Steve had gone off the rails instead and tracked Hesse to an empty warehouse near the airport, after killing several of Hesse’s contacts and torturing two others, and scaring the hell out of Kono and Chin in the process. Steve had actually cuffed Kono and Chin to the restraint loops in his truck before he went in the warehouse, coldly and silently taking down the two rent-a-thugs that were holding Grace and then getting her out of the warehouse to leave her locked in the truck with Kono and Chin before he went back in for Danny. 

Hesse had tried holding a knife to Danny’s throat to scare Steve when Steve had dropped from the rafters to land just a few feet away from them, but the sight of Danny’s blood on the blade had backfired badly on Hesse. Steve had thrown a small knife he had palmed before he jumped, hitting Hesse’s knife hand and making him drop the blade he was holding, and then Steve charged. Danny had scrambled out of Steve’s way, unwilling to get in the way of the pure rage on Steve’s face while he had both hands tied behind his back, and then he had watched as Steve took Hesse down hard and beat the guy completely insensible. 

Danny tried to get Steve to stop after he realized Hesse was out cold, but Steve had looked up at Danny and calmly told him he wasn’t done yet, and then before Danny could even really make sense of that Steve had looked back down and snapped Hesse’s neck like it was a twig. Steve had cut Danny loose and spent a few minutes checking Danny over and seeing for himself that Danny wasn’t badly hurt, pretending not to even notice Danny freaking out about him killing Hesse, and then Steve had called Governor Jameson to tell her exactly what he had done. Pat had told him to take care of his family and leave Hesse to her and their team, so Steve had herded Danny to the truck, turned Kono and Chin loose to take over, and took Danny and Grace home. 

Kono had told Danny later that the Governor had been on the scene with Kono and Chin before even Max showed up, and that she had pulled Max aside for a quiet little conversation and afterwards all of the official reports had said that Hesse had died from a knife wound to the neck. There were only six people who knew it was the simple truth, just not in the way most people that ever saw the report would assume. The knife wound that killed Hesse had been on _Danny’s_ neck. 

Chin had told Danny a few days later that he never again wanted to see what Steve was like when someone took Danny away from him, and that was when Danny had finally learned just how close to psychotic Steve had been while he looked for Danny and Grace. Chin and Kono had both been terrified for Steve’s sanity until they saw Danny alive and well again, and Chin had been sure that if they had found Danny’s body, Steve wouldn’t have survived him much longer than it took Steve to track Hesse down and kill him. Danny had talked to Steve about it one night a few days later, and then he had nightmares for days about how calm and rational Steve had been when he said that he refused to live without Danny and Grace.

“Are you sure a trash bag will keep it dry?” Kurt asked suddenly, pulling Danny out of his thoughts.

“Worked well enough when Steve broke his arm a while back,” Danny said with a slight smile, walking over to put the bag, tape, and sling down on the vanity and trying hard not to let himself think again about the bruises on Kurt’s pale skin. “He’s half dolphin so it was pure hell keeping him out of the ocean for six weeks, but there was no way he’d give up his daily swim _and_ our morning showers, so I had to improvise.” Kurt smiled, looking amused as Danny added, “And the sling’s to help you keep that arm still so you don’t pop the collarbone again. It’ll be starting to knit by now, but not enough for you to swing your arm around. It doesn’t matter if the sling gets wet, just leave it in the shower for tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Kurt agreed, turning the stool to let Danny reach his back more easily even though he was starting to look more nervous as his smile disappeared again.

Danny looked at Kurt’s face in the mirror, smiling encouragingly at him as he said gently, “Relax, okay? You _know_ I’m not gonna hurt you if I can help it.”

“I know,” Kurt said quickly, trying to smile but failing. “Just ignore it if I do anything stupid. I’m _not_ scared of you touching me, no matter what it looks like. I’m trying to get control of it, but sometimes I can’t keep from reacting.”

Danny gently laid his hand on Kurt’s good shoulder, watching Kurt in the mirror as he murmured, “I know, so don’t worry about it. If you need me to back off, just say so. I won’t get upset, I promise.” He reached for the Velcro straps that held the brace wrapped tightly around Kurt’s body, starting to carefully pull one strap loose and trying hard to make sure he avoided hurting Kurt in the process. “How bad are your ribs?”

“A couple are cracked up pretty bad, but none are really broken,” Kurt replied, his voice only a little bit shaky. “I’m used to my ribs getting banged up though. They don’t really bother me, not like my shoulder does.”

Danny finished with the first strap and moved on to the second one, trying hard to hide the anger he felt at the idea of Kurt being _used to_ having cracked ribs. “Your shoulder’s still hurting you a lot, even with the arm strapped down so tight?”

”Yeah,” Kurt admitted softly. “It hurts all the time, but especially when I forget to take a few Tylenol when I should. Then I just sort of want to curl up in a corner and cry, or maybe throw up if I’ve been moving around.”

“Huh,” Danny said quietly, reaching for the last strap. “I think on Monday morning we’re gonna take you down to the doc that works on me and Steve when we get banged up, see what he thinks. After a week that dislocated shoulder shouldn’t still be hurting so bad, not with it immobilized like this.” He got the last strap unfastened and carefully eased the straps free to loosen the wide band around Kurt’s chest, wincing when he saw the grooves in Kurt’s skin underneath, dug deep across the ugly mottled purple and yellow-green of the bruises there. “Damn, no wonder you’re itching.” He gently rubbed at the lines across Kurt’s shoulder blades until Kurt whimpered, which made him jerk his hand away. “Sorry, kiddo, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“The bruises hurt a little, but you touching me didn’t make it worse,” Kurt said quickly, and a glance in the mirror showed Danny that he looked embarrassed and kind of sheepish. “That wasn’t an ouchy noise, Uncle Danny. It itches really, _really_ bad.”

Danny snickered. “Gotcha.” He moved his hands back to Kurt’s shoulders, rubbing gently at the lines left by the strapping.

After a moment Kurt made a little strangled noise and then blurted, “God, I just want you to take a _wire brush_ to my back. It’s itchier than having chicken pox was, worse than _poison ivy_ , and if I even _try_ to reach it with my good hand my stupid shoulder and ribs start screaming bloody murder because I have to twist to do it.”

Danny grinned, looking at Kurt in the mirror as he kept rubbing along the ridges in his skin. “No wire brushes, but we have a back brush you can probably use if you’re careful. Mary left it when she moved out.”

Kurt brightened a little, leaning back into Danny’s touch as he asked hopefully, “And she won’t mind if I borrow it?”

“Not even a little,” Danny said, amused as he rubbed Kurt’s back a little harder. Kurt was starting to move into it to guide Danny's hands to different places on his back, and Danny had to work hard at it not to laugh at the low purring groan Kurt let out when Danny found a particularly itchy spot. “When I tried to give it back to her she told me to throw it away because she already bought a new one, but I left it in her bathroom in case Grace wanted to use it. She doesn’t as far as I know, so there’s no reason it can’t come in here. I’ll go get it for you as soon as I get your arm bagged up.”

“Thank you,” Kurt said quickly, “that would be wonderful. I had one at home but I packed it in one of the boxes that are being shipped over, thinking I wouldn’t be able to use it for weeks yet.”

“No problem.” Danny rubbed Kurt’s back for a few more moments and then finally moved to the side to get a good look at the way Kurt’s arm was immobilized, still strapped to the wide band that now hung loosely against Kurt’s side. The strap around Kurt’s upper arm wasn’t as tight as the bands around Kurt’s back had been, but the straps over Kurt’s cast were adjusted tight enough to indent the cast slightly. He wondered if Kurt had adjusted the bicep strap himself to loosen it as he said, “That thing looks pretty uncomfortable.”

“Not as uncomfortable as it actually is,” Kurt said darkly, looking down to give the brace a dirty look. “I think I’d rather live with the pain of my collarbone breaking again _every day_ instead of wearing this thing. It’s _torture_.”

“You think you can keep that arm still without it?” Danny asked, looking searchingly at Kurt.

Kurt looked up at him quickly, surprised. “As much as my shoulder hurts if I move it? Definitely.”

“Then forget about putting it back on after your shower,” Danny said, reaching out to start unfastening the other three straps. “There’s another sling in Steve’s bottom drawer you can use until we get you to our doc on Monday.” He grinned suddenly at Kurt, teasing, “It might offend your sense of fashion, though. It’s camouflage.”

Kurt looked bemused. “If it keeps me out of this straightjacket, I don’t care if it’s neon pink with lime green polka dots.”

Danny snickered. “I hear that, kiddo.”

~*~

Kurt felt like the day had already passed in a whirlwind of excellent food, family, and laughter, and it was only an hour or so past noon. 

It had begun right after Kurt’s shower that morning with a delicious breakfast of fresh chocolate-chip waffles topped with whipped cream and lovely fresh strawberries, mint, and mangos that Grace went out and picked in the back yard while Steve made breakfast. The fruit tasted very different from what Kurt was used to, so fresh and sweet that it was almost like eating candy, and he had eaten a second plate of just the fruit with mint while Danny teased him about turning into a bunny rabbit.

Mary breezed in just after breakfast while Kurt, Burt, Danny, Steve, and Grace were all relaxing around the kitchen table, saying hello and then hopping up on the kitchen counter and cheerfully starting to tease Danny and Steve while Grace giggled at them. It hadn’t taken long for Danny to start a long rambling rant at Mary about her lack of respect for her elders that soon had Kurt giggling at them too while Steve tried not to laugh and Burt just watched them, looking amused between frequent glances at Kurt that always made Burt smile wider. 

Mary reminded Kurt pretty strongly of Sam when he was feeling playful, smart and funny with a wicked sense of humor, and once she got Danny started they were really quite funny to listen to. Steve seemed to love it, egging Danny and Mary on and teasing them cheerfully just to get them to argue more, and Kurt spent what seemed like hours giggling or wanting to at the proof Danny was right about Steve enjoying watching him yell. 

It took Danny, Mary, and Steve quite a while to settle down to just talking about the house Mary was renting near the beach somewhere on the north shore, which Mary thought was perfect while Danny and Steve both insisted it was in the middle of nowhere. They were discussing how far Mary had to drive to get to work when someone Kurt was immediately sure _must_ be Kono – mostly because Danny had described her to him as a female Hawai'ian version of Steve – breezed in from the _lanai_ with a gutted _pig_ slung over her shoulder.

Kono kissed Mary soundly, looking entirely too pleased with herself, and then looked at Steve. "Get off your _okole_ and help me get this pig on the fire, brah."

Steve laughed and stood up as Grace beamed at Kono and asked, "Where did you get a whole _pig,_ Auntie Kono?" 

"I went hunting at _tutu_ Koleni's," Kono said cheerfully. 

"You went hog hunting _alone_?" Danny asked, surprised. 

"I wasn't alone!" Kono protested quickly. "I borrowed Raider, he's the best hog dog around. I wanted to try out that knife Steve gave me for my birthday."

"Oh my _God_!" Danny exclaimed, wide-eyed. "You have at least _four_ handguns and two _rifles_ that I know of, and you risked your life to kill a pig with a _pocket knife_?!"

Kono rolled her eyes. "A SOG Seal Team Elite knife is _not_ a pocket knife, Danny."

"There is still no good reason for you not to shoot our dinner at a safe distance!" Danny exclaimed, still wide-eyed and looking incensed. 

"What do you expect, Danny?" Mary asked, looking annoyed. "She an adrenaline junkie with no sense of self-preservation, just like that giant dork you sleep with."

"I swear, he encourages her when I'm not watching," Danny agreed, looking at Mary. "She's got to get these _crazy_ ideas from somewhere!"

"Probably," Mary agreed darkly. "You _know_ he would totally hunt hogs with a pocket knife."

Kono had been listening to them and looking amused, but she had to correct that. "It's not a _pocket knife_! It's the same knife Steve used in combat with the SEALs. It's _made_ to kill things."

Danny turned to Kono again. "So is a gun!"

"You're just as insane as Steve is," Mary added, giving Kono a dirty look. "He'll go out and try to get himself killed five ways before breakfast, too!"

"I had breakfast before I went out," Kono protested. "I got loco moco at Zippy's."

Mary threw up her hands. "Because loco moco is the important thing when we're talking about you going out alone to try to get yourself _killed_!"

"Raider was with me," Kono pointed out reasonably. "He'd never let a little old pig hurt me."

"Your uncle's crazy junkyard dog does _not_ _count_ , Kono," Mary said acidly, giving her a dirty look.

Kono looked at Steve, bemused. "Boss, help a girl out here." 

Steve smirked. "If you want to enjoy all the good parts of having a mouthy blond in love with you, _kaikuahine_ , you'll have to get used to the yelling."

Danny and Mary started spluttering angrily. 

Kono pretended to think about it only a moment before she headed outside with the pig as she said cheerfully, "Eh, the bennies are worth it."

Steve just laughed and followed Kono to help put the pig on the spit over the grill and get the fire started.

Danny looked at Mary, indignant and annoyed. "I wasn't through yelling at them yet. Were you?"

"Not hardly," Mary said darkly, heading outside after them.

Danny followed her, and Grace jumped up giggling to follow them, leaving Kurt alone with his dad.

Kurt shook his head with a soft little laugh and then stood to get a bottle of cold water out of the fridge, sure that life would never be dull around Danny's home. He was just reaching into the fridge when Burt asked quietly, “Could you hand me some water while you’re in there, son?”

“Sure, Dad.” Kurt tucked a bottle into his sling and then took a second one and closed the fridge before he moved back to the table, offering the bottle in his left hand to Burt with a smile. His dad didn't look nearly as amused as Kurt felt after watching Danny and Mary freak out about Kono's pig, and he asked impulsively, “How are you doing today? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“I’m fine,” Burt said quickly, looking a bit surprised as he accepted the water. “I’m more concerned about you.” He hesitated and then added, “You seem to be feeling better.”

“I am,” Kurt agreed, smiling as he sat back down in the chair to Burt’s right and impulsively reached out for Burt’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “I just… I can’t explain it, Daddy. I woke up this morning feeling like I’m finally safe again, and then Uncle Danny and I talked, and that helped even more.”

“I’m glad, son,” Burt murmured, turning his hand over to hold on to Kurt’s hand. “I-- I went upstairs a little while ago, to check on you. I saw you two hugging.”

“I needed a hug,” Kurt admitted, looking down. 

“I would hug you,” Burt said softly, sounding kind of sad, and when Kurt looked up he saw the pain in Burt’s eyes and it made him feel awful suddenly. “Anytime you want, son. You know I’d do anything for you.”

“I _hate_ hurting you, though,” Kurt murmured, swallowing hard. “I still can’t stop myself from falling apart when people touch me, and it upsets you so much when you think that I’m scared of you that I just … avoid it. I’m sorry, but I can’t take making you _cry_ because I’m so messed up right now.”

“And Danny’s different?” Burt asked, looking serious.

“He understands that I can’t control it, Daddy,” Kurt said quietly. He wasn't sure if his dad knew about Steve's past, and he didn't think it was his place to share it, so he didn't mention any names as he added, "He's helped someone else through this kind of thing, and he knows that me falling apart and crying all over him doesn’t mean I want him to get away from me.”

“You tried tellin’ me that, too,” Burt said softly, looking sad. “It’s just so hard, seeing the way you shake and cry if I touch you more than a few seconds.”

“I know,” Kurt murmured, trying to smile even though he kind of wanted to cry again. “It’s okay. I’ll get over it eventually. Today’s the first day I’ve really believed that.”

“Being around Danny helped that much?” Burt asked, looking confused and still sad.

“Being thousands of miles away from that _psychopath_ helps that much,” Kurt corrected. “Knowing I’m really safe and won’t look out a window to find him staring at me again is just… I can’t put it into _words._ ” He shuddered slightly, remembering seeing Karofsky outside Finn’s room the other day while he was in there with Finn and Puck. Kurt had been watching them play video games because Burt and Carole were gone and he didn’t want to be alone, and it was actually kind of fun to watch Puck kicking Finn’s butt at Mario Kart until he happened to glance at the window. The look in Karofsky’s eyes and the way he had been staring had made Kurt instantly feel violated, and he had spent most of the last two days he was home hiding in his own bedroom, safely away from any windows with Finn's baseball bat in easy reach. “Not hurting so bad helps a lot too, though,” he added finally, wanting to be truthful.

“What do you mean, not hurting so bad?” 

“Uncle Danny helped me take off that torture chamber the doctors back home put me in,” Kurt explained. “The straps and that brace were making me itch like mad and I felt so _dirty_ because I hadn’t had a shower since ... before, but he got the damned thing off and bagged up my cast so I could finally get clean.” He smiled, remembering how good it had felt to just stand under the spray and let the hot water beat on his back. “It was wonderful, I feel so much better.” He paused and then added, “And I think that brace is why my shoulder has been hurting so badly, too. It’s hardly hurting at all now. Nothing I can’t handle, at least. I’m used to hurting some.”

Burt looked pained. “Why didn’t you tell _me_ it was hurting you so much, son? I could have taken it off and helped with the cast so you could shower. I _know_ how you are about being clean.”

“I didn’t know it wasn’t _supposed_ to hurt so bad anymore after a week, Daddy, and I didn’t ask you to help me shower because I hate upsetting you,” Kurt replied softly. “When I shake like a leaf and cry over something I _know_ I shouldn’t, it _hurts_ you.”

“Son, if you had just _talked_ to me…” Burt started, and then he sighed, dropping his gaze. “Never mind.” He looked at Kurt again, trying to smile even though his eyes were bleak and sad. “At least now I know for sure I did the right thing, insisting on you coming here. Danny’s obviously who you need to help you through this, not me.”

“Daddy, no,” Kurt said quickly, his eyes stinging with sudden tears. “It’s not like that.”

“It is,” Burt disagreed, giving Kurt’s hand a squeeze. “And stop that. It’s a _good thing_ , Kurt. Your Uncle Danny loves you like you were his own son, and he can keep you a hell of a lot safer here than I ever managed to.” He paused and then added, “He and Steve know what it’s like for you right now, and they can give you what you need.”

“What if what I need right now is for my dad to hold me?” Kurt asked, blinking to clear his eyes of the tears slowly sliding down his face.

Burt looked surprised and then smiled slightly. “That I might be able to handle.”

“Please?” Kurt whispered, and then Burt pushed back his chair and stood, tugging Kurt’s hand to pull him to his feet and into his arms without a word. Kurt released his dad’s hand to cling to him, crying and trembling as he mumbled, “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry I was such an idiot about all of this, son,” Burt murmured against his hair, holding Kurt very carefully. “I didn’t understand.”

“It’s okay,” Kurt said, swallowing back a sob. He started trying to get control of himself, doing his best to ignore the way his collarbone and shoulder ached as he pressed so close to his dad. “I should have talked to you more. I just-- I was so _scared_ all the time, and everything was already so bad I didn’t want to make it even worse.”

“Shh, it’s okay now,” Burt said gently, his arms tightening a little around Kurt. “Between Danny and Steve, we both got it figured out a little better.”

Kurt lifted his head to look at his dad, surprised. “Steve?”

“He had a little talk with me,” Burt explained with a crooked attempt at a smile that didn’t quite reach his sad eyes. “Explained a little about what it’s like for you, being so scared all the time, and told me about how Danny took care of you when your momma was sick. I never knew about a lot of it. It makes it easier to understand why you can let him help you now.”

“I never told you because we didn’t want you to know,” Kurt murmured, not even noticing that his trembling was already fading away. “You were hurting enough, you didn’t need our pain on top of yours.”

Burt lifted one hand to brush back Kurt’s hair, looking sad but reluctantly amused, too. “You always were such a strong little boy, trying so hard to take care of everyone you love. I don’t know what I would have done without you, after we lost your mom.”

“She told me I'd have to take care of you,” Kurt admitted softly, leaning into Burt’s touch without really noticing it. “While you were getting her some Jell-O one day near the end. She told me she was going to have to leave us, and that you were going to need me more than ever to make sure that you didn’t forget how to live.”

Burt swallowed hard, his eyes suddenly shining with tears as he murmured, “That was the day Danny wasn’t with us, wasn’t it? When he had to take Michelle to the doctor that one time and you stayed at the hospital all day?”

Kurt nodded. “When Aunt 'Chelle thought she was pregnant.” Burt’s eyes widened at that and Kurt added, “She wasn’t, but she was scared she could be because she had too much to drink at a party and didn’t remember what happened, and then she woke up sick one morning a week later and panicked.” He smiled slightly, amused by the memory as he added, “Then she and Uncle Danny sat in a free clinic waiting to see a doctor all day only to find out she was one of about a hundred people who had gotten food poisoning from the school café. Uncle Danny teased her about it for _weeks_.”

Burt let out a little huff of a laugh. “I bet he did. Morning sickness doesn’t start that early.”

“I know,” Kurt said, smiling wider. 

Burt smiled back at Kurt for a moment and then stepped back slightly as he murmured, “I’m not sure how I’m gonna be able to take not seeing you all the time, son.”

“You’ll have Carole and Finn, and I’ll be just a phone call away,” Kurt said, taking his dad’s hand in his again as he stepped back to give Burt a little more room. “You’ll be okay, Dad.” He smiled, teasing, “Just don’t argue with Carole about your diet, or I’ll have to call home and lay down the law again.”

“I won’t, I promise,” Burt said, smiling a little wider as he gave Kurt’s hand a squeeze and then let it go. “I’m gonna miss you, but it’ll help knowing you’re here with your Uncle Danny where that meathead can’t get to you.”

“I even _feel_ safe here,” Kurt agreed, smiling as he reached for his water bottle. “I had almost forgotten what it felt like not to wake up scared that today would be the day Karofsky finally lost it completely and killed one of us.”

Burt suddenly looked sad again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe.”

“Don’t be, Dad,” Kurt said quickly, remembering when Puck said the same thing the night before. “It wasn’t anything you could stop, or that _anyone_ can stop, really. Not without putting him in jail or killing him, probably, and neither of those would really fix things either.”

“Sometimes I wish he _had_ broken into the house,” Burt admitted. “Then I could have killed him myself for what he did to you.”

“I don’t,” Kurt said quietly. “I don’t want to have to live knowing you had to kill someone because of me, Daddy, not even him.”

The back door opened then and Danny walked in, smiling cheerfully as he moved to open the freezer, his earlier annoyance evidently forgotten. “You guys gonna join us on the _lanai_? It’s nice and shady, and it’s a beautiful day outside.”

“Yes, we are,” Kurt agreed immediately, smiling. “Sitting outside with everyone sounds nice.”

“Well then get moving, kiddo,” Danny said cheerfully, taking a bag of ice out of the freezer and then making shooing motions with his free hand towards the door. “Go on, shoo. Out of the kitchen! Time for fresh air and family time.”

Kurt grinned at Danny as he teased, “And you say _Steve’s_ a control freak.”

Danny laughed. “Just get your bony butt out there, brat!” 

Burt chuckled slightly and picked up his own bottle of water to head for the door with Kurt following him, amused. 

Kurt ended up in one of the chairs at the table between Danny and Burt, and he was soon feeling completely comfortable again as he listened to everyone but his dad cheerfully talking and teasing each other. Burt was staying quiet and just listening like Kurt was, but he was obviously amused by them and looking more relaxed than he had in a week with a bottle of water in one hand and his other arm draped loosely on the arm of his chair. 

Danny was sprawled to Kurt’s right in the chair he had claimed the night before, holding a beer and laughing while he, Mary, and Kono argued cheerfully about which of the Hawai'ian microbrew beers were the best. Danny liked the Longboards that Steve preferred, but Kono said there wasn’t anything on the islands that could compare with the Fire Rock Pale Ale she was drinking, and Mary insisted they were both nuts and that the only Kona beer worth drinking was Koko Brown Ale.

Grace was giggling in Steve’s lap at Danny’s other side, and Steve was smirking and looking very happy and relaxed, one arm loosely around Grace and the other reaching over to hold Danny’s hand as he idly ran his thumb over Danny’s knuckles. Mary had teased them about holding hands at first, right up until Kono snagged Mary’s hand and smirked at her, telling her not to knock it until she had tried it. The hand-holding had been completely ignored since then, but it hadn’t escaped Kurt’s notice that Mary was holding Kono’s left hand in both of hers, and had moved her chair over to lean against Kono’s side while they all talked.

Kurt noticed movement out of the corner of his eye after a while and he turned his head to look, his eyes widening at the sight of a positively _stunning_ Asian man walking around the side of the house. He had a gorgeous smile, high cheekbones, and slicked-back hair that hung in wet ringlets against his neck, and was wearing biker boots with board shorts and a loose low-cut tank top that left absolutely no doubt he had a beautiful body to go with the classically handsome face. He was carrying a fairly full net bag of squirming crabs in one hand, and as he got closer Kurt realized suddenly that he must be Chin, Kono's cousin that completed the team Danny and Steve ran. Chin was the only one that Danny had mentioned had been invited for the day besides someone named Kamekona, who had already called to say he wouldn’t be there because his grandmother had declared that he was going to her house to cook for a party she was having. 

“ _Aloha_ , everyone,” Chin said as he got closer, still smiling and looking relaxed and happy. “Did I miss lunch?”

“Brah!” Kono called cheerfully, grinning. “It’s about time you showed up!” 

Mary was grinning widely too. “Looks like you had good luck with your traps this morning.”

Chin was smiling and looking pleased as he said, “Good enough.” He headed towards the grill and the battered old cooler next to it. “Didn’t get many shrimp today, but there are enough _'a'ama_ and _kuhonu_ to make up for it, I think, and even a few _kualoa_.”

“Looks like plenty,” Steve agreed, grinning. “There should be more ice in the house, if what Danny put in the fish I got this morning is gone already.”

Chin flipped open the cooler and then opened the net bag to dump the shellfish in, shaking the last few large shrimp and a crab loose before he closed the cooler again and grinned at Steve, dropping the bag next to the cooler. “They ought to be fine, there’s still plenty of ice in the water to keep them cold another hour or two.” He walked around the table to stand next to the empty chair by Kono, holding his right hand out to Burt as he said, “You must be Burt.”

Burt smiled, leaning to take Chin’s hand as he nodded. “And you must be Chin Ho Kelly. Steve mentioned you last night when we were talking about his football days.”

Chin grinned and shook Burt’s hand, letting go as he said, “That would be me, yes.” He turned his attention across the table to Kurt then, his grin softening into a warm smile as he offered Kurt his left hand and said, “And you must be Kurt. Danny’s told us a lot about you.”

Kurt smiled back at Chin even though he felt his face heating up as he blushed, feeling suddenly shy as he leaned to awkwardly shake Chin’s hand, feeling only a little hesitant about the idea of touching him. Something about Chin’s sweet smile and his eyes made Kurt sure he didn’t have to be afraid of him, whether he knew him or not. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Kelly.”

Chin let out a little laugh as he released Kurt’s hand after holding on to it just long enough for Kurt to notice how gently he had held it despite the calluses on his hand and the obvious strength of his grip. “Hey now, I’m not Mr. Kelly to anyone but bill collectors. Call me Chin, please.”

“Or Uncle Chin,” Grace piped up, making Kurt look at her. She was smiling happily, leaning against Steve’s chest with her cheek resting on his shoulder. “That’s what I get to call him.”

“Uncle Chin works too,” Chin agreed easily, and Kurt looked towards him again, still blushing. Chin was smiling and looking relaxed as he settled into the chair between Kono and Burt, adding, “Whatever you’re comfortable with is fine, Kurt.”

“Thank you, Chin,” Kurt said quietly, smiling at Chin and still feeling shy.

Chin smiled at Kurt a moment longer, his dark eyes warm, and then he turned his attention to Danny and Steve, changing the subject completely. “So when do we eat? I’m _starving_. Breakfast was a couple of pieces of fruit around daybreak.”

Steve grinned, looking amused. “Whenever that pig your cousin brought is done.”

Chin laughed and looked at Kono. “You brought a _whole pig_? What happened to you buying steaks for everyone?”

Kono smirked, looking cheerfully smug. “It’s just a _little_ pig, cuz, and it was _free_.”

Everyone started laughing at that, and then soon they were off and running talking about the hunting, foraging, and fishing they all did when they got together to avoid having to buy food for everyone. Kurt was glad to hear Burt join in the conversation, asking interested questions about the hunting on Oahu, and soon Kono, Chin, Steve, and Burt were deep in conversation about hunting rifles while Mary and Danny just watched with amusement, interjecting a comment occasionally.

Kurt reached for his water bottle after a few minutes and then settled back into his chair to listen, kind of surprised by how relaxed and comfortable he felt with them all but not wanting to really think about it too hard. He was too glad to feel so safe again to poke at it too much. His shoulder was hurting much less now that he wasn’t wearing the brace, and the constant itching he had been living with for days had subsided during the long hot shower, leaving him feeling better than he had in a week. 

Even having people around that he barely knew wasn’t really bothering Kurt that day, mostly because he felt so safe with Danny and Steve, and Danny had promised him that he was perfectly safe with everyone that would be in their home that day. It helped that Kurt knew at least a little bit about them all, enough to be sure that they were Danny’s chosen family, his _'ohana_. Steve had mentioned _'ohana_ during breakfast, and Grace had been the one to explain the word to Kurt, telling him that it meant family and family meant no one gets left behind or forgotten. 

Kurt kind of liked the sound of that, and couldn’t wait to get to know these people that Danny felt so connected to. The idea of living with Danny and Steve – and by extension Grace, Mary, Kono, and Chin – didn’t worry Kurt at all anymore, and he was actually starting to look forward to it, at least for the rest of the summer. Danny’s _'ohana_ already acted like they were Kurt’s family too, which awed and amazed Kurt and left him feeling as happy and safe as he could remember being in a very long time. 

Kurt was going to miss his dad and his family and friends in Ohio, miss them dreadfully even, but he was starting to feel like he might be able to build a life for himself in Hawai'i, at least for a while. Danny’s _'ohana_ accepted him with open arms, including him in the family like it was where he belonged, and it made him feel safe and wanted in a way he hadn’t experienced in months.

It gave him hope, which was something that had been in very short supply in his life for far too long.


End file.
